The Second Sunday of Easter (Ps) April 27th

Psalm 3:1-8

¹  O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

²    many are saying of my soul,

there is no salvation for him in God. Selah

³    But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

⁴    I cried aloud to the Lord,

and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

⁵    I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

⁶    I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷    Arise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

       For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸    Salvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

What is the Office of the Keys?[1]

 The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.

Where is this written?²

 This is what St. John the Evangelist writes in chapter twenty: The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven' (John 20:22-23).

What do you believe according to these words?²

 I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.

Almighty God, grant that we who have celebrated the Lord’s resurrection may by Your grace confess in our life and conversation that Jesus is Lord and God; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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[1] These questions may not have been composed by Luther himself but reflect his teachings and were included in editions of the Small Catechism during his lifetime.