Friday after Ninth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 19, 2022 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 12:54-59 (NKJV)
12:54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
57 “Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”
Devotion
Don’t wait; the gifts of God are available, don’t neglect them. That is what our Lord is teaching. It is a most tragic sin that we do not value Baptism and the Lord’s Supper for what they are: the gift of salvation. Time is short, all men will appear before the judgment seat of God, and God has provided these heavenly gifts to make us ready and at peace.
Emperor Constantine, who summoned the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.), waited till his deathbed to be baptized, because he believed, in confusion, that sins committed after Baptism were not covered by Baptism. This serves as a historical warning. It is dangerous to wait when the gifts of God are here and ready. Baptize your children as soon as possible and take the Supper often, because you need these things daily. Luther says in the Large Catechism, “Those indeed who are true Christians, and esteem the sacrament [the Lord’s Supper] precious and holy, ought to urge and impel themselves thereto” (Part V:42).
The Christ says that we must “discern this time.” This is the time of salvation. It is the time of the New Testament, when salvation is found in the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which, in turn, are found in the sacraments of the Christian Church.
Prayer: Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; 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.
