Tuesday after the Seventh Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on July 16, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 15:1-7 (NKJV)
15:1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
Devotion
In their self-justifying hypocrisy, the Pharisees and scribes fail to see the dangerous irony in their resentment that “this Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Truth and humility from God’s Holy Spirit would show them that they are sinners who need Jesus to come and be with them, to bless them and help them. But they wanted Him to do it on their terms; they wanted Him to affirm their own prideful expectations.
Our gracious Lord rejoices in sinners who faithfully see that they are indeed sinners, who repent, and who fear, love, and trust in Him above all things. Unrepentant sinners trust in themselves and deny that they are lost and sick. He is the one who comes to seek and save, by the Son who became flesh and blood as true man, and by His Spirit who enlightens us in true faith. He is the one who does all the work, and He is the one who teaches us His terms for good order and righteousness. If He did not receive sinners and abide with us, we would all be lost in condemnation. Thanks be to God that He does come to us on His terms, according to His will. May His good and gracious will truly be done on earth as it is in heaven, and may we serve according to it so that others may be found and saved by our Lord Jesus Christ!
Collect: O God, Whose never-failing Providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth: We humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
