Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (OT)

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

¹¹ “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹³ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰ loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

I have been reminded several times that you should read the word of God outload to yourself. (Yes, I understand English teachers are screaming, because they spend all this time teaching us to read silently.) I will tell you that when you read out load you have greater retention of information. You generally use the visual sense in reading, but add to it verbal and audio (as you speak and hear). You will find that the word of God truly does become very near to you. It is in your mouth and in your ears and in your head and likewise in your heart.

Moses knew what he was talking about and God knew what he was doing. Previous to our text they lined up the people on opposite sides of the valley and had them scream back and forth the blessings and curses that they would face with respect to the commandments as they enter into the promised land.

But it is not only about recalling these promises of God, both for good and for evil. Moses also reminds the people that it is not himself who bears witness to God what is happening among the people. It is not the judges that have been placed over the people who witness before God. But it is all the creation, which will bear witness to your sinful life. The creation knows that you know the difference between right and wrong. The creation will be called to testify against you when you choose death through your actions.

Thankfully we have one who speaks a word greater than the creation. We have one who knows all that we have done, and yet he still lovingly lays down his life for you. He dies for the forgiveness of all your sins. His blood speaks a greater word than the blood of Abel. He bears witness to our forgiveness and new life (you have n the promise of the resurrection).

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Ps) August 3rd

Psalm 75:1-10

¹  We give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

       We recount your wondrous deeds.

²    “At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

³    When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

⁴    I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

⁵    do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.’ ”

⁶    For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

⁷    but it is God who executes judgment,

putting down one and lifting up another.

⁸    For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

       and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall drain it down to the dregs.

⁹    But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰    All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

What gifts or benefits does baptism grant? Answer:

It brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.

What are these words and promise of God? Answer:

Where our Lord Christ says in Mark 16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be damned.”

Almighty God, in Your mercy so guide the course of this world that we may forgive as we have been forgiven and joyfully serve You in godly peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (GA)

Luke 12:13-21

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴ But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

There is a famous song from the musical rent which talks about how you measure a life. The answer is in seasons of love. But it is still an important question that Jesus poses, in what does one's life consist? So we know the wrong answer is possessions, is the right answer love? Maybe if the love we are talking about relates to love and God, but it may be better to say a life of repentance and forgiveness.

Similarly, this text makes me think of another musical: Hello Dolly! In that musical the main character Dolly Levi repeats a phrase about money. Money is like manure, it is best when it is spread around. She uses this phrase to encourage a rich business man to spend his money rather than horde it. He has been a shrewd business man and gain a lot of "nice" possessions. But he has never really shared his life with someone.

The lesson from this is that we can lay up treasures in our neighbors and relationships. This may not be the point the text is really pushing us toward. But if we treasure our neighbors as ourselves, maybe we will see our love toward God growing also. As we stay connect to his word, a little love and manure may just help us grow.

Nevertheless, we have a great treasure in heaven. We have Jesus Christ who is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He has paved the way for us to find eternal life in the new heavens and new earth.

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (OTA)

Job 34:10-30

¹⁰    “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:

far be it from God that he should do wickedness,

and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹¹    For according to the work of a man he will repay him,

and according to his ways he will make it befall him.

¹²    Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,

and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹³    Who gave him charge over the earth,

and who laid on him the whole world?

¹⁴    If he should set his heart to it

and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,

¹⁵    all flesh would perish together,

and man would return to dust.

¹⁶    “If you have understanding, hear this;

listen to what I say.

¹⁷    Shall one who hates justice govern?

Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,

¹⁸    who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’

and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’

¹⁹    who shows no partiality to princes,

nor regards the rich more than the poor,

for they are all the work of his hands?

²⁰    In a moment they die;

at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,

and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

²¹    “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,

and he sees all his steps.

²²    There is no gloom or deep darkness

where evildoers may hide themselves.

²³    For God has no need to consider a man further,

that he should go before God in judgment.

²⁴    He shatters the mighty without investigation

and sets others in their place.

²⁵    Thus, knowing their works,

he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.

²⁶    He strikes them for their wickedness

in a place for all to see,

²⁷    because they turned aside from following him

and had no regard for any of his ways,

²⁸    so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,

and he heard the cry of the afflicted—

²⁹    When he is quiet, who can condemn?

When he hides his face, who can behold him,

whether it be a nation or a man?—

³⁰    that a godless man should not reign,

that he should not ensnare the people.

This almost sounds like the perfect 4th of July text. The people of the american colonies did not like their king. But their King was placed there by God. He was given charge over the people. God does not do wickedness, so what would make you think that God would allow a wicked man to rule? Who says to a King, "You worthless one!" The intended answer is nobody, but rather the world would scream everyone. Presidential approval ratings in the United States rarely make it over 50% they are generally good when they are in the upper 30s.

But here is the real point, "For according to the work of a man he will repay him and according to his ways he will make it befall him." You need to look at your own work. If you were a bad King, God would make sure you got de-throned. If you are a bad father, God will take away your children. If you are an evil person God will punish you. But when is this going to happen. The world shows us that nice guys finish last. 

I even heard the other day that if a guy is too nice on a date, the girl will think he is toying with her, or trying to decieve her. Is this really true? This is why everyone wonders where all the nice people have gone. They have been trampled on and turned to do evil. Jesus was a nice guy, he got crucified (there may be a little more going on there).

We know that we are going to be judged by our works. We also know that we are saved by Grace alone through faith alone. We know that God has mercy on us and will forgive our sins. We know that the godless will not reign in eternity, but those who are in Christ Jesus will reign with Christ. So maybe in the end Nice people will finish strong, but only with the help of Christ.