Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter

May 8, 2026Today's Reading: Luke 13:29-30Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 26:1-20; Luke 13:18-35“...And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”(Luke 13:29-30)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Amen. Jesus teaches His hearers that in Him salvation is for the world. The mindset of the first-century Jew was that salvation was on account of their lineage. The appeal of the church leadership was to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for their assurance that God would save them. The idea that salvation would be for the Gentile was folly to the Jew. The teaching that the message of salvation was for the world was foreign to the Pharisees and the church leadership. The Messiah was for the Jews to free them from a tyrannical and oppressive foreign government. Jesus flips the narrative that was being taught upside down. A teaching that the first would be last and the last first did not agree with the current leadership. Jesus was chastised for the people He called as His disciples. The individuals who benefited from His miracles were from all walks of life. He sat with sinners and tax collectors. He proclaimed comfort and hope to the destitute. He healed the blind, the deaf, and the mute. The outcast, the beggar, the half-breed Samaritans, He healed and restored them. His message was contrary to the message that the Pharisees had been teaching. He brought a message of forgiveness and mercy.Our world today advocates for self-reliance. We are to seek out our own desires and fulfill those desires regardless of whether they are contrary to the Scriptures. The message of the Scripture is still contrary to what the world would have us believe. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive to the world. The world says to rely on yourself, fulfill your wants, and serve yourself. Christ’s message is a message of repentance and forgiveness. The Savior has come into this world and paid the price for your sins. He has fulfilled the law on your behalf. You are set free to live in your Baptism. He did not look at your last name or who your parents are. He did not look at your history or where you are from ethnically. God has called you out of His unfathomable love for you.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Today Your mercy calls us To wash away our sin However great our trespass, Whatever we have been However long from mercy Our hearts have turned away, Your precious blood can wash us And make us clean today. (LSB 915:1Rev. Timothy Davis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Athens, GA.