Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (OT)

Genesis 25:19-34

¹⁹ These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴ When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) ³¹ Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” ³² Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

The battle between these two nations begins from the womb. They fight with each other for the love of their parents. They even fight each other for the love of God. Esau is the mighty hunter who prepares wild game, in which his father delights. Jacob is thought to be the homebody, or mama’s boy, who is loved by his mother.

Both of them seem to be able to provide for themselves. These two nations do not appear as though they should struggle at all. But Jacob starts off by pulling the heel of his brother. Esau comes in from the field famished, and willing to give up his birthright. This is a tail as old as time.

How many of you would be willing to give up future blessings, for an easier life now? How often are we more than happy to look at the world in front of us, than to peer into the eternal picture? How many of you would deny the truth, in order to live peacefully with your neighbors, or co-workers?

God offers you eternal life, this birthright that was given to Jesus Christ. He offers his birthright to you, free of charge. This birthright does not belong to us, but it is given to us for less than a bowl of soup. It is given to you freely, because Christ desires to live with you rather than live without you. God forgives you, what would you trade that eternal gift and promise for?

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (CL)

James 5:1-20

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. ² Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. ⁴ Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

⁷ Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹ Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹² But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

¹⁹ My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

I always wonder what it must be like to give a king bad news. You know the old adage of don't kill the messenger. I am sure there have been many prophets that have been killed because they did not tell the king what he wanted to hear. Likewise, I think there have been many wise kings that have listened to these prophets who tell them they are going to their destruction.

There have been many prophets that have proclaimed peace to the people of Israel, but peace never seems to come. Even the name Israel means one who wrestles with God. You need to remember the struggle we face within our own flesh. There is a battle within us. The battle between the new man who will hear the Word of God, and the Old man who turns to the ways of the world. This two men wage a war in our flesh.

These men attack each other. The old man continues to lead us into sin, and points out our failures. The new man looks to Christ who raises him to life, and continues to help bring him back to life. Christ has died to kill in his flesh our old man, and rises to new life to renew our new man. The final victory will be won by the new man through Jesus Christ.

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Ps) August 31st

Psalm 5:1-12

¹  Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my groaning.

²    Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to you do I pray.

³    O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

⁴    For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

⁵    The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;

you hate all evildoers.

⁶    You destroy those who speak lies;

the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷    But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

       I will bow down toward your holy temple

in the fear of you.

⁸    Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make your way straight before me.

⁹    For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is destruction;

       their throat is an open grave;

they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰    Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

       because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹    But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

       and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may exult in you.

¹²    For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

you cover him with favor as with a shield.

The Second Petition

May your kingdom come.

What is this? Answer:

In fact, God’s kingdom comes on its own without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come to us.

How does this come about? Answer:

Whenever our heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, so that through his grace we believe his Holy Word and live godly lives here in time and hereafter in eternity.

The Third Petition

May your will come about on earth as in heaven.

What is this? Answer:

In fact, God’s good and gracious will comes about without our prayer, but we ask in this prayer that it may also come about in and among us.

How does this come about? Answer:

Whenever God breaks and hinders every evil scheme and will—as are present in the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh—that would not allow us to hallow God’s name and would prevent the coming of his kingdom, and instead whenever God strengthens us and keeps us steadfast in his Word and in faith until the end of our lives. This is his gracious and good will.

O Lord, let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Twelfth 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.”

What did I do wrong, I did nothing wrong? All the guy does is build bigger barns, must he die for giving thanks to God for an increase in the harvest. Does the man die because he built bigger barns? Maybe it is just ironic? Where do you store your wealth? What is your wealth?

I think of this like someone setting up another portfolio for retirement. You are planning for the future. Is there something wrong with that? If you are putting your faith in yourself, YES. If you are putting your hope in a glorious future in this fallen creation, YES. If you are giving thanks for the gifts God has given you and enabling those talents to grow, it is not wrong. 

Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, but look to the treasure you have in Heaven, seated at the right hand of our Father. Likewise, you should think of money like manure, it is best when you spread it around. Jesus Christ is our eternal treasure. We do not store him up in a barn, but share him with the world. We forgive one another. He has died for the forgiveness of your sins. He has provided you with a hope not in a fallen creation, but in a new Heaven and new earth.