Luther for the Busy Man

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - WEDNESDAYLESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 5:6‒8Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14The really wicked people in God’s sight are those who are proud of their external performances, who want to justify themselves and be accounted righteous before God because of their works. The lawyer in the Gospel belonged to this class of men. What a proud ass he is! And like a proud ass, he comes to the fore. He imagines that Christ can find no fault in him. He probably even thinks that the Lord will commend and praise his life right here before all the people. It never entered his head that he might have something to learn from the Lord; he was seeking only his personal honor and glory. This coxcomb was expecting a song of praise from the Man to whom the people looked up and about whom everyone wondered.The Lord does not really do this man a service in shaming him like He does. Christ can really be quite unfriendly and anything but kind, especially when He tells people the plain, unvarnished truth. One can understand why some people became so cross with Him. This pious, holy lawyer is still standing on his head. He has but one aim in view: to cash in on the very high reputation he has won by his holy living. He is quite sure that he has fulfilled all the commandments. He hopes to hear from Christ the commendation, “My good man, you have done everything; all is well with you.” But Christ says: “Do this!” In plain language Christ means to tell him, “You are a complete fake; you have never at any time kept this law, not even a letter of it.” He shows this man his wickedness. The poor simpleton thinks that he should be in one of the upper seats. It would be fine and clean. He would rather take his place among the angels than among these people. At times Christ can certainly be a very strange Christ.SL 11:1539 (11‒12)PRAYER: You have made it perfectly clear, O God, that self-righteousness never has any room to spare for Your grace and mercy. Empty our hearts of all false pride and self-righteousness, that Your grace and mercy may enter and abide there, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:17-35.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - MONDAYLESSON: ROMANS 13:8‒10A lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:25‒28I think that the Lord set out to teach this pious man a very elementary lesson. And yet, such treatment of such a fine man can hardly be right. Surely, He should have shown more consideration for this man! He puts him to shame before the whole world. How can this help the man? He shows this man, who had imagined that he had done everything, that he has really done nothing. He asks: “What shall I do?” When Jesus was finished with him, he certainly had enough and more than enough to do.A great deal of very necessary comment could easily be supplied on the two commandments which this man quotes for Jesus. They are the most significant and most important parts of Moses. As Jesus says, “On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40).If we examine all the laws in Moses, we shall see that they all have reference to love. I cannot explain or interpret the commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), as having any other meaning than “You shall love God alone.” This is how Moses himself explains it in Deuteronomy when he says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4‒5).SL 11:1538 (6‒8)PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, guide us at all times by Your Holy Spirit to a full and correct understanding of Your holy Word, so that it achieves in us the purposes for which You have given it to us and receives its full meaning for us, in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:17-35.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - MONDAYLESSON: ROMANS 13:8‒10A lawyer stood up to put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” Luke 10:25‒28I think that the Lord set out to teach this pious man a very elementary lesson. And yet, such treatment of such a fine man can hardly be right. Surely, He should have shown more consideration for this man! He puts him to shame before the whole world. How can this help the man? He shows this man, who had imagined that he had done everything, that he has really done nothing. He asks: “What shall I do?” When Jesus was finished with him, he certainly had enough and more than enough to do.A great deal of very necessary comment could easily be supplied on the two commandments which this man quotes for Jesus. They are the most significant and most important parts of Moses. As Jesus says, “On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40).If we examine all the laws in Moses, we shall see that they all have reference to love. I cannot explain or interpret the commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3), as having any other meaning than “You shall love God alone.” This is how Moses himself explains it in Deuteronomy when he says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4‒5).SL 11:1538 (6‒8)PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, guide us at all times by Your Holy Spirit to a full and correct understanding of Your holy Word, so that it achieves in us the purposes for which You have given it to us and receives its full meaning for us, in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:17-35.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XIII - SUNDAYLESSON: LUKE 10:23‒37Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Luke 10:23‒24This seeing and hearing must be understood quite simply as external seeing and hearing, namely, that they saw Christ in His own person and in the office He fulfilled, heard His preaching, and witnessed the miracles which He performed among the Jews. They were all in a position to confess with Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).Many prophets and kings also saw Christ, but only in spirit. The Lord Himself said to the Jews, “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see My day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). On that occasion the Jews thought that Jesus was speaking about a physical seeing; but Jesus was referring to the spiritual seeing whereby all pious Christian hearts saw Jesus before He was born and still see Him today. If Abraham saw Him in this way, there is no doubt that many prophets, in whom the Holy Spirit resided, also saw Him thus. This spiritual seeing brought salvation to the holy fathers and prophets, but they also experienced a heartfelt desire and longing to see the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is indicated here and there in the prophets.The Lord here says to His disciples, who both heard and saw Him in the flesh, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!” He means to say, “This is a blessed time, an acceptable year, a time of grace. What is now present before you is so precious that the eyes which see it are quite rightly called blessed. Never before has the Gospel been proclaimed to every man with such publicity and clarity.”SL 11:1536 (2‒4)PRAYER: Jesus, Lord and Savior, You pronounced Your disciples blessed for being able to see and hear Your works of grace and Your Gospel of salvation. Help us to a similar experience of blessedness in connection with Your Gospel of salvation, for Your name’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:17-35.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - SATURDAYLESSON: 1 JOHN 5:9‒15“Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22As Christians who are priests before God, we should say, “Christ was certainly a priest in the fact that He prayed for me and acquired personal faith and the gift of the Spirit for me. Hence, I also am a priest who should continue to pray to God that He should give faith to this man or that man.” We should have the firm persuasion that we shall receive what we pray for boldly in faith, in accordance with Christ’s promise, “Ask, and you will receive” (John 16:24).To pray boldly is not always in our power. The Spirit does not always give the ability to pray boldly. Paul prayed to God for Israel that they might be saved (Romans 10:1). Why was his prayer not successful? It was a matter of faith. The Holy Spirit withheld it. Had Paul been able to pray for this with boldness, it would most certainly have happened. Had Paul said, “I pray for the whole of Israel,” and had he believed boldly and said, “Lord, I am certain that You will do it,” it would certainly have happened. It was certainly his heart’s desire and one which he often expressed, but the Holy Spirit never enabled him to believe it with confidence.It is not within our power to pray with bold confidence; the Holy Spirit must give us this confidence. When we pray for anyone with the confident addition, “It will certainly happen,” it will certainly happen. But normally we Christians must pray with the addition, “Your will be done!” If I must leave it to His will, then I cannot prescribe person, time, or manner to Him, but leave it to His good pleasure. This gives me adequate certainty. This is also what Christ did. He prayed in the garden, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).SL 11:1522 (15‒16)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, give us a full measure of Your Holy Spirit, enabling us to pray at all times in faith and confidence, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - FRIDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 2:9‒10“I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father.” John 16:26‒27I should never rely on your works, and you should not rely on mine. But with my faith, I will pray to God for you to give you a personal faith of your own. John says that Christ has “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (Revelation 1:6). Like Christ Himself, we may now step forth on behalf of others and pray that God may bestow a personal faith on them. Hence, if I see that you do not have such a faith, or a weak faith, I go off and pray to God to help you to such a faith. I do not give you my own faith and works, but I pray God to give you your own faith and works. I pray to God that Christ may give you all His works and salvation through faith, as He has given us His blessings through faith.This is also the point in the passage quoted above from John’s Gospel. Christ means to say here, “I have prayed and had dealings with God on your behalf so that He may give you what is Mine. Therefore, acknowledge My name. Through My prayer for you, He has accepted you and given you faith, so that from now on you may pray for yourselves. I do not have to do it for you, but you should do it for yourselves in My name.”Here God crowned us, consecrated us, and anointed us with the Holy Spirit so that we are all priests and each one should pray for the other. We are a royal priesthood of believers.SL 11:1521 (13‒14)PRAYER: Among our greatest distinctions, Lord Jesus, is this, that You have given us individually the status of being kings and priests before God, our heavenly Father. Grant us at all times a clear understanding of our privileges as priests, especially in intercessions for the needs of our brethren. We pray in Your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - THURSDAYLESSON: LUKE 12:35‒40“Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’” Matthew 25:7-9It is important for you to know how far another man’s faith can help you. The merits of others can prompt you to acquire merits of your own, but that is their limit. Even if all the angels and God’s mercy itself took your part, it would not help you, unless you adhered to that mercy with a faith of your own. One thing another man’s faith can do for you is to help you acquire a personal faith for yourself.Similarly, even if Christ, after dying for us and giving His body and life, blood and flesh for us, were to intercede for us, it would still not help us, unless we believed in Him. But He can help us by interceding for us with His heavenly Father and saying, “Dear Father, all this I have done for men; give them faith that they may avail themselves of it.” This also helps us after we regard His works and merits as our very own possession. The same thing applies in respect to all the other saints. Their intercession and merits are of no avail at all to us unless we have personal faith.You see this also from the events set forth in this Gospel (Mark 7:31‒37). The poor man lies there helpless; he cannot speak or hear anything. Those who brought him to the Lord can speak and hear. He does not acquire the ability to speak through their hearing and speaking. Even if they had all come forward and said, “We want to speak and hear for you,” he would have remained speechless and deaf forever and never have acquired the ability to speak.If you make use of your faith to help me to personal faith for myself, that is helping me. Otherwise, no work or ties of brotherhood are of any avail.SL 11:1520 (11‒12)PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, make our faith a living power in our lives, not only to believe all that You have promised us, but also to do all You command us, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - WEDNESDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 9:18‒22He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:50This Gospel (Mark 7:31‒37) suggests discussion on the part played by another’s faith in our salvation. These men brought the deaf man to Jesus as a fruit of their faith in Jesus. The deaf man made no contribution at all; he played an entirely passive role.We should note at the outset that it is quite impossible to be saved by another man’s faith in the sense that the other man does the believing for you and in your place. But it may well happen that through another man’s faith, you yourself come to personal faith. In a similar way, the works of another man can help me or influence me to perform works of my own. Those people are lying who claim that we can be saved through the works and faith of others, whether we have personal faith for ourselves or not. It is not so! Unless you derive a personal faith for yourself from God’s goodness and mercy, you cannot be saved.This is how the case stands. If you do not have your own personal faith, neither the faith nor work of another man will help you, not even Christ who is a Savior for the whole world. His goodness and His help avails you nothing unless you yourself have faith in Him, and are thereby enlightened. Therefore, be on your guard against anyone who directs you for help to another’s faith. Tell such a would-be helper, “If you want to serve me with your works, make an approach to God and say to Him, ‘Dear heavenly Father, through Your grace I have come to faith, therefore I beseech You, my God, give this poor man faith also.’ This could help me, but it is impossible for you to give me your own faith. And even if you could do so, it would help me not at all.”SL 11:1518 (7‒9)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, of all the many gifts which You have bestowed upon us in Your grace and mercy, none is more important to us than the gift of faith. Make our faith strong and a powerful source of good works, through Your holy Gospel and for Christ’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - TUESDAYLESSON: GALATIANS 3:23‒29In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Galatians 3:26You know now that man is accounted righteous before God and becomes acceptable to God on no other ground but on the basis of faith alone. Hence it is nothing but a false fabrication to teach what has hitherto been taught on this matter in the church, namely, that we must have dealings with God on the basis of our works.Over and above all this, it was even more foolish for the church to direct men to other sources of help besides faith and works. It was asserted that nuns, priests, and monks could help others with their nocturnal howling in their cloisters and distribute their treasures among others.We should note that no one should ever make up his mind to be saved through another’s faith and work. Your salvation is beyond the work and faith of Mary or any other saint. It cannot even result from the work and faith of Christ Himself.To be saved you must believe for yourself. You can be saved only by your own faith. God will not give His consent to permit Mary, or any other saint, not even Christ, to take your place in this respect. You can be accounted righteous in His sight and justified before Him only by your own faith. If Christ’s own faith and work are of no account here, you will achieve even much less with the work and faith of all monks and priests.SL 11:1518 (7)PRAYER: We praise and thank you, heavenly Father, for the gift of faith which you have bestowed upon us in your free and unmerited grace. Let this faith now become a real fountain of good works in us which we perform in the interests of our neighbor, for Christ our Savior’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - MONDAYLESSON: PSALM 57:1‒3Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2The Gospel for this week (Mark 7:31‒37) describes works of love. These men seize the initiative and go to the poor, deaf man with speech troubles to lend him a hand. Without their merits or any initiative from them, Christ sends forth His Word and attends to the spreading of His goodness and mercy. Accordingly, after drawing from the fountain, there is an outflowing from them which is quite spontaneous. They now share gratuitously with their neighbor, without any condemnation of merits.Love must always do its work in this way, quite freely and with no other consideration but the neighbor’s welfare. Among other things, St. Paul says of love that it “does not insist on its own way” (1 Corinthians 13:5). To the Philippians he writes, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).This is the attitude which we find here also among these pious people. They do not need the work in question. They do not consider simply their own interests; they think only of the poor, deaf man and of how they can help him. They seek no reward. They render their services to this man quite gratuitously.This is also the kind of sincerity which should mark your good deeds to your neighbor or otherwise you are not Christians. Mark well, then, how love is described here. It takes upon itself another man’s troubles. If we follow this example, good for us. If we refuse to follow it, God can punish us with the blindness which afflicted our forebears for almost four hundred years.SL 11:1517 (5‒6)PRAYER: It is your will, heavenly Father, that we should always practice our faith, especially in the love which we show to each other. Grant us your grace that we love each other without any self-interest, looking not to our own things but to the things of our neighbor, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XII - SUNDAYLESSON: MARK 7:31‒37How are men to call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14The external history of this Gospel or the example it sets before us is good in itself. For here we see how many adopted the pressing need of this poor man as their own need and brought him to Jesus that He should help him. In this action there is set forth an example of both faith and love. It is an example of faith. They had heard that the Lord is good and merciful and helped all who came to Him. The Word, portraying God’s goodness to us, must be heard beforehand and reach our hearts so that we cling to it in faith. Christ’s words must have taught these people these basic facts about God; otherwise, in the absence of that Word, faith and works are also absent.Although the actual details are not recorded here, we must infer from what actually took place that before these people brought this man to Jesus they must have heard the good news, the Gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, by which they were brought to faith. For the Gospel in its real essence is good news, a good report, not written on paper but promulgated and made known in the world in the living voice. Accordingly, they had no doubt heard that Christ is good, friendly, and beneficial, helping everyone. This was the beginning of their faith.So you must take a firm grip of the Gospel. You will always find that the good news must first go out and bring us to God. God must lay the first stone or otherwise all is lost. Secondly, they adhered to this good news. They came to Jesus and expected to obtain from Him what they had heard about Him.SL 11:1516 (2‒4)PRAYER: The Gospel which you have made known to us, O God, is a message of good news. May this message ever draw us closer and nearer to our Savior and keep us with Him. In His name we ask it, and for His sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:370-380.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - SATURDAYLESSON: LUKE 7:36‒50Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16The tax collector (Luke 18:9‒14) stands there and humbles himself. He mentions no fasting, no good work; he mentions nothing at all. And yet the Lord says that this man’s sins are not as great as the hypocrite’s. A man must really be bold if, in the face of all this, he would feel inclined to exalt himself above the least of sinners. If I draw myself up even a finger’s breadth above my neighbor, or above the worst of sinners, I am thrown down. The tax collector during his whole life did not commit so many and so great sins as this Pharisee here committed when he said, “God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men,” and lied so that heaven might well have thundered in reply. You hear no word here like the tax collector’s plea: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” God’s mercy, tenderheartedness, and love are clean forgotten.God is nothing but sheer and pure mercy, and he who does not see this does not believe in God at all, as the psalmist also declares, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1). This is where the unbeliever finishes up with his lack of self-knowledge.I will add just one more remark here. Even if this man had committed the very worst of sins like deflowering virgins, it would not have been as bad as saying, “God, I thank Thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers.” To be sure, Pharisee, do I hear you? Do you have no need of God? Do you despise His goodness, mercy, love, and all that He is? These are real sins. It is not a question here of open sins breaking out. It is a matter of unbelief in the heart, which we cannot see. This is always the real sin.SL 11:1493 (20)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the consequences of unbelief, cutting ourselves off from all grace and mercy, are truly fearsome and must lead to despair. Keep us firm in faith and duly humble by keeping us close to our Savior, in whose name we also ask this. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - FRIDAYLESSON: LUKE 14:7‒11“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14We must take a look here at the foolish hypocrite, the Pharisee. He is adorned with the most beautiful works. First, he gives thanks to God, fasts twice in the week, and gives a tithe on his whole income to God, not to St. Nicholas or St. Barbara. He has not broken up his marriage or committed an act of violence against anyone. He is not the kind of man to insist on his rights; he has always preserved an unblemished record of piety. If that is not a fine, honorable life, I would like to know what is! No one could really fault this man; as far as the world is concerned, he deserved nothing but praise. In fact, he praises himself.God intervenes here to demonstrate that the works of this Pharisee are blasphemies. Lord God forbid! What judgement is this! Nuns and priests might well be dismayed here and tremble in the marrow of their bones. None of them are half as pious as this Pharisee. Would to God that there were still many such hypocrites and Pharisees today!What is there lacking in this pious man? The simple fact is that he does not really know his own heart. Here you see that we are our own greatest enemies, inasmuch as we close our eyes and heart. This man tells us how he feels. If I were to ask such a hypocrite, “My dear man, do you really mean what you say?” he would affirm with an oath that he has his facts quite straight. Note, however, how deep God’s sword cuts, “piercing to the division of soul and spirit” (Hebrews 4:12). Here everything must crash in ruins and fall to the ground. Without humility, no one can stand before God.SL 11:1492 (17‒19)PRAYER: Open our eyes and hearts, O Lord, that we really recognize ourselves for what we are, miserable and wretched sinners, utterly lost and condemned if left to our own resources. Fill up our emptiness with Your grace and mercy, and continue to shower Your blessings upon us, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - THURSDAYLESSON: PSALM 9:7‒12“The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast.” Luke 18:13We are urged to produce works as evidence of faith, not that we should pile up merits by them. Doing works freely and gratuitously for the benefit of our neighbor must become our normal procedure. In urging such works upon us, God is saying to us in effect, “If you have faith, heaven is yours. But even so, in order not to deceive yourselves, do some works.”The Lord pointed this out in an excellent manner when He said to His disciples, “This I command you, to love one another” (John 15:17). And just before this, during evening supper, He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34‒35).Before this He stated, “I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). Christ means to say here, “You are My friends, but no one can detect this from your faith. But if you show forth fruits of faith, and your love bursts forth, people will be able to recognize you as My friends. The fruits will not save you or make you My friends; you must prove yourselves to be My friends, and that you are saved by your fruits of faith.”Therefore, note this well! Faith alone makes you godly. Although it is a living force and a great treasure, because it lies hidden in you, works must emerge and attest your faith to the praise of God’s grace and the condemnation of the works of men. You must lower your eyes and humble yourself before everyone so as to win over your neighbor by your service to him. For this reason also, God prolongs your life; otherwise, you would have deserved to lose your head long since. This you see well illustrated in this pious tax collector.SL 11:1490 (13)PRAYER: Strengthen our faith, heavenly Father, by Your means of grace, that we may always produce abundant proof of our faith in good works to our neighbor, for Christ’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - WEDNESDAYLESSON: 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1‒5By God’s power [we] are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5The reason why St. Luke and St. James put considerable emphasis on works is to prevent men from laboring under the false delusion that faith is merely some vague sort of feeling that floats about on the heart like froth on the beer This is absolutely wrong!Faith is a vital, living reality, making a man quite new, changing his whole disposition, giving his life a completely different direction. Faith brings a man right down to the grass roots of existence, and a complete renewal of the whole man takes place. Hence, if I formerly knew a man to be a sinner, I can see from his changed behavior, his altered being, and his different life that he is now a believer. Faith is always a most important factor.The Holy Spirit has also seen fit to emphasize works because they are witnesses of faith. If there are those who produce no evidence in the form of works, we can quickly conclude, “They heard the message of faith, but it never penetrated to any depth in their case.”If you want to persist in pride and immorality, in greed and wrath, while continuing to chatter a lot about faith, St. Paul will come to you and say, “The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20). The kingdom of God must be lived and put into action; it cannot be adequately attended to with little more than idle chatter.SL 11:1489 (11)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, faith is the power which You use to bring men to salvation and to keep them as Your children and disciples. May we never lose this faith, but may it ever increase in us, continuing to manifest itself in rich fruits of faith for the welfare of Your kingdom and in the interests of our neighbor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XV - TUESDAYLESSON: PSALM 37:1-11“Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24You will find very few people who do not sin against this Gospel (Matthew 6:24-34). The Lord pronounces a very strict judgement here, and it is alarming to hear Him make this judgement which might very well apply to us. No one likes admitting it. No one is very pleased to hear someone telling us that we hate and despise God and are, in fact, His enemies. Almost all of us, on being asked if we loved God and were attached to Him would reply, “Yes, I love Him.” But this Gospel seems to suggest that we all hate God and despise Him in our love of mammon and our attachment to it.God certainly puts up with such a mixed state of affairs in regard to our service of Himself. He bides His time with much patience. But when He deems it fitting, He can also intervene in a very drastic manner sooner than we expect it. He who loves his money and property and clings to it with strong attachment must hate God; it cannot be otherwise. Jesus places two alternatives alongside of each other here which are mutually hostile and concludes: if you love one of these two and become attached to it, you must hate the other one and despise it.Therefore, no matter how pleasantly one lives here on this earth, clinging to one’s property, in such a case there must be hatred of God; it cannot possibly be otherwise. Contrariwise, he who is not attached to money and property in this way loves God. This is certain.SL 11:1615 (5)PRAYER: Lord, give us, in all the days of our earthly pilgrimage, a proper understanding and appreciation of the most important priorities in our life of service in Your kingdom. Let us never become slaves of mammon but ever remain Your true servants, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:102-117.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - TUESDAYLESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 4:13‒15“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Luke 18:14The tax collector’s faith certainly proves itself by its fruits. How do we explain Christ’s statement here that he “went down to his house justified rather than the other”? We have suggested that this tax collector was justified before the happenings recorded in this Gospel and before he beat upon his breast as here reported. What does Christ mean here, then, with the statement that “he went down to his house justified”?This refers to something I have frequently stressed previously: if faith is as it should be, it will break out and produce fruit. If the tree is green and good, there is no coming to a standstill; it must sprout and produce fruit and leaves. Nature sees to this. I do not have to command the tree and say, “Listen to me, tree, produce apples!” If the tree is there and it is a good tree, fruit comes of its own accord. If true faith exists anywhere, works must follow.If I confess myself to be a sinner, it follows that I must also say, “Dear God, I am a rogue; make me godly!” So also the tax collector here. He does not hold back, but speaks out quite freely. He is not afraid of disgracing himself before other people. He must come out with his faith, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” It is as though he meant to say, “Now I see that all is shattered for me; I am a rogue and acknowledge my sin. There is nothing else for me now but to believe in God and cling to His mercy, to implore His grace; otherwise I am ruined.”In this way faith casts itself upon God. It breaks forth and establishes itself through works. When that happens in a man, I can recognize him as a believer and so can others.SL 11:1488 (8‒9)PRAYER: When You bring men to true faith, heavenly Father, You also empower them to prove their faith in their lives. Make our faith such a power in our lives that all men will know that we are Your children and glorify Your holy name, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XV -MONDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 15:1-9“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24The man who wants to serve two masters will always find himself in a relationship to one of them which is not service in any sense at all. Matters must always take a course like the one described by the Lord in this week’s Gospel (Matthew 6:24-34). You can force a servant to do something to which he is opposed and which annoys him. But no one can compel him to do it gladly or from his heart. Perhaps he will do it as long as his master is present, but as soon as his master leaves, he also hurries away and does not really make a good job of things.It is the Lord’s will that our service should flow from love and be done willingly. If this is not the case, it is not real service. No one is pleased with what we do unwillingly. This is quite natural, and we have experience of this daily. Now, if it commonly applies among all ranks and situations among men that no one can serve two masters, it will apply much more to our service of God.Our service of God can never be a divided service. We must serve Him alone, and our service must come from the heart. That is why our Lord states quite categorically, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” God cannot suffer us to have another master besides Him. He is a jealous God, as He Himself declares, and cannot tolerate us serving Him and His enemy. “You must be Mine alone,” He says, “Or not at all.”SL 11:1614 (3-4)PRAYER: O Lord, our God, You leave us in no doubt at all with Your “either ... or” instructions about the kind of service which alone can please You. Take our hearts into Your keeping and purify them with Your Holy Spirit, so that we always serve You with our whole hearts, for Your name’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 5:102-117.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - MONDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 5:6‒11“The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” Luke 18:13It seems that the tax collector must have heard something of God’s Word beforehand, that he believed this Word and became a godly man as a result of this, as Paul says, “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ” (Romans 10:17). When God’s Word takes hold of a man’s heart, it purifies him and makes him truly pious and godly. The evangelist does not expressly say here that the tax collector had heard the Gospel, but he gives certain indications that he had heard it somewhere or other, for he makes the tax collector exclaim, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”Such an exclamation is beyond all the powers of human reason. Therefore he must have become acquainted previously with the fact that God is gracious, merciful, and friendly to all who recognize their sins, who call upon Him and desire His grace. He had heard that God in His heart of hearts is gracious to all who humble themselves and who look to Him for comfort and consolation.The beginning of all true piety must never be sought in ourselves but in the Word of God. God must first let His Word sound forth in our hearts. Through this Word we learn to know God and come to faith in Him. After this, we are equipped for good works. Accordingly, we must also infer here that the tax collector in some way or other heard the Word of God. If this were not so, it would certainly have been quite impossible for him to confess himself to be a sinner as the Gospel reports it. He would not have been humbled and beaten his breast unless there were true faith in his heart beforehand.SL 11:1487 (5‒6)PRAYER: Thanks and praise be to You, heavenly Father, for the precious gift of Your Word. Grant that we may always accept Your Word with our whole heart so that it always proves itself a powerful influence in our lives, fully sanctifying us, for Christ the Savior’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XI - SUNDAYLESSON: LUKE 18:9‒14“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.” Luke 18:10You have already heard that before any man can do what is good and pleasing in God’s sight he must already be a pious man, that is, he must be accounted as justified and righteous before God by faith in Christ. At all times it remains universally true that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and, contrariwise, that a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. If a man is to do what is good, he must be good beforehand. So also here. The tax collector beats his breast, and this act may be regarded as a mark of the faith he already had in his heart.This took place and was recorded so that we should really open our eyes and not judge people merely by outward appearances. We must try to discover what was in the heart of these two men and not simply form a judgement according to works. If the heart is godly, all is godly. If this tax collector is judged by works, you soon come to a false conclusion. It appears that in him there is nothing but sin. Likewise, when I judge the hypocritical Pharisee here according to works, I also finish up with a wrong conclusion. He stands in the holy place, makes a fine prayer, praises and thanks God with impressive works, fasts, gives tithes, and harms no one. Everything about this man glitters. His standards find universal approval.It is not easy to reject the testimony of such an honorable, virtuous life. Who would venture to assert that fasting is not good, that praising God and rendering to every man his due is something evil? When I look at a priest, monk, or nun, I regard them as godly. Who can gainsay me? But if I am to determine that this man is evil and that man godly, I must look into their hearts. This I cannot do.SL 11:1486 (2‒4)PRAYER: We know that it is quite useless, heavenly Father, to play the role of a hypocrite, because You can always look into our hearts and judge us accordingly. Purify our hearts from all base motives, that the services we render You may truly please You and benefit our neighbor, for Christ’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:336-347.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - SATURDAYLESSON: LUKE 21:21‒24“They will not leave one stone upon another in you.” Luke 19:44Jesus becomes angry at the desecration of His temple by these greedy money-grubbers. They not only despise and neglect the true worship of God but turn it completely upside down and trample it under foot. Out of the temple which God set up to teach men God’s Word and bring them into heaven, they made nothing else but a den of robbers and murderers.It was, indeed, a den of murderers, for nothing but the utter corruption and murder of souls took place there. God’s Word, through which alone souls are saved, was never heard there. In its place, men were directed to the devil’s lies.This is really the chief sin, the reason for which they merited utter destruction together with their temple. Because they are bent on the destruction of God’s kingdom, God no longer wants to build up their kingdom. He says to them in effect, “Because you proceed to build up the devil’s kingdom in place of My kingdom, I will adopt a similar procedure with you and absolutely destroy everything that I have built up among you.”Of this He gave them a prelude when He went on the rampage in their temple just before the end of His public ministry. Later on, when He had left this earthly scene, the Romans would carry out His words to the letter Then they would be completely carried off from Jerusalem with all their possessions, just as He had removed them from the temple. They would no longer have any worship, temple or priesthood, land or people.SL 11:1483 (39)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: O God, let us not forget the example which You made of Your chosen people, the Jews, when they hardened themselves in unbelief. Keep us always truly humble and free from false presumptions, as we trust solely and only in Your grace, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - FRIDAYLESSON: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:12‒17And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:45‒46The temple and the whole priesthood was established to promote God’s Word and for the praise of His grace and mercy. This was to be attested with the external service of sacrifices and in public thanksgivings. But the temple services were not simply regarded by the Jews as opportunities for praising and thanking God for His grace and mercy; they turned their temple worship into a monkish doctrine of works. With their sacrifices in the temple, they believed that they could earn God’s grace for themselves, and that by the making of many sacrifices they could influence God to give them heaven and all earthly blessings as well.All that they should have expected from God on the basis of God’s pure goodness and grace, they based on their own works and merits. In addition, in the devil’s name they went so far in all this that in their greed they set up tables for money-changers and seats for those who sold pigeons and other animals to offer as sacrifices right in the temple, so that those who came from distant lands and cities might find enough to purchase or exchange their money there. This they did to increase the trade in sacrificial animals and to enrich themselves in the process.In the name of worship and under the excuse of worship, they absolutely distorted all worship and destroyed it. They changed God’s grace and mercy into human merit, and His gift into human work which He had to accept from them and for which He had to thank them.SL 11:1482 (36)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: In Your Word, O Lord, You are giving to us; we are not giving to You. Keep us ever mindful of the fact that You are the source of all blessing, and that we are always receivers solely dependent on Your grace, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - THURSDAYLESSON: 1 PETER 4:12‒19“Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29In many ways we resemble the Jews. They were more concerned about their bellies than about God, more intent on filling their bellies than on learning God’s plan of salvation for them. Ultimately, therefore, they lost out in both directions, and deservedly so. Inasmuch as they refused to accept eternal life and joy, God also deprived them of their bodily welfare, and so they lost both body and soul.They offer an excuse which rings much like those we also hear today from our contemporaries, “We would have been quite glad to accept the Gospel, had it not endangered our body and property, and perhaps even cost us wife and children.” “If we let Him go on thus,” some of them said in reference to Christ, “everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation” (John 11:48).What they here feared would happen did happen, for as Solomon said, “What the wicked dreads, will come upon him” (Proverbs 10:24). These fears prevented the Jews from believing in God. They did not regard the great and rich promises which God had made to them.We also pass over such matters and do not see the mighty, comforting promises which our Lord has made us. Even if we do lose our earthly property, heaven and earth are the Lord’s, and He will certainly repay us freely and richly.SL 11:1474 (16)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Your blessings and benefits to us are many and great, as are all the free gifts of Your love and mercy. Open our hearts in such a way that we never offer any hindrance to the operation of your free and wonderful grace, and so that we may be prepared at all times to suffer everything and risk everything for Christ’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - WEDNESDAYLESSON: PSALM 19:1‒4Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph, as it did among you. 2 Thessalonians 3:1In our day, praise God, the Gospel is being proclaimed with a fullness and clarity that has not been known since the days of the apostles. We should appreciate this time of visitation and pray earnestly to God to continue it among us, especially also by continuing the blessings of peace.The princes and rulers are always only too ready to decide matters with the sword. They are too bold in grabbing hold of God by His beard, and God will strike them on the mouth accordingly. It is high time to pray earnestly to God to keep on making His Gospel known in ever-widening circles among those who have not yet heard it. Should punishment suddenly fall upon us, it would be too late, and many souls would be left behind whom the Word had not yet reached.This is why I deeply regret the fact that we despise the Gospel in such a horrible manner. This is not said simply for our own sakes, but also for the sake of those who are still going to hear he Gospel. Matters have settled down a little, and, God grant, I hope that this continues and that both the princes and the peasants do not become any crazier. If hostilities break out again, I have grave fears that they will not end.SL 11:1473 (14‒15)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: Preserve unto us times of peace, O Lord, in which Your Word may have free course and still reach many who do not yet know it and believe it, for Your name’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - TUESDAYLESSON: PSALM 95:6‒11“The days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:43‒44These words of Jesus were fulfilled about forty years after this when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the manner described by Jesus. Let us learn a lesson from this, because it certainly concerns us and all other men.This is no joking matter, and we have no reason at all to suppose that our experience will be so different. The Jews refused to believe it until they experienced it personally. We are now being visited by God. He has opened to us His treasure, His holy Gospel, by which we learn to know His will and to see how we have been held fast in the devil’s power.No one is prepared to accept it in all seriousness. We even despise it and make fun of it. No city, no prince or ruler, is really thankful to God for this gift. And what is even more serious, there are those who persecute and revile the Gospel.God is patient and bides His time for a while. If we simply misread open facts and push matters too far, however, He can take His Word away from us, and the same wrath which fell upon the Jews can also fall on us. For we have the same Word, and the same God and Christ that the Jews had. We, too, will suffer the same punishment that the Jews suffered, for the same sin that they committed, despising and rejecting God’s Word and, more particularly, His Gospel of salvation in Christ. “Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7).SL 11:1471 (10‒14)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: Lord God, Your warning voice is always quite plain. We have no one but ourselves to blame if we fail to recognize the day of Your visitation. Keep us always fully aware of the serious nature of Your offer of salvation, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - MONDAYLESSON: ROMANS 13:11‒14“Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace!” Luke 19:42There are many ways in which God can punish men for despising and neglecting the Gospel and His Word. He can send them false prophets and sectarians who preach with such assurance that one would imagine they had swallowed the Holy Spirit. Even men in whom we had every confidence can become their victims and fall into error, so that they no longer know what they should do or leave undone.There is no greater affliction or calamity than for God to send us sects and false teachers, because they are so bold, keen, and daring that it is really pitiable. On the other hand, the Word of God is such a great treasure that no one can adequately grasp it. God values His treasure very highly, and when He visits us in His grace it would please Him greatly if we accepted His visitation with love and thanksgiving.He does not bring us under compulsion here, as well He might, but He wants us to follow Him gladly, with joy and love. However, He does not wait for us to come to Him; He gets in first and comes to us. He comes into the world; He becomes man; He serves us, dies for us, rises again, and sends us His Holy Spirit. He also gives us His Word and opens up heaven so widely that all stands open. In addition, He gives us rich promises and assurances of His temporal and eternal care here on earth and in heaven and pours out His grace upon us in full measure.We are now living in a rich time of grace, but we despise it and throw it to the winds. This He cannot disregard.SL 11:1472 (12‒13)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: In Your Word and Gospel, O God, You have bestowed rich and precious gifts upon us, and by Your mercy and grace we have enjoyed a rich season of grace. May we never lose the appreciation of the precious nature of Your rich blessings to us, but ever continue in their full enjoyment, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - SUNDAYLESSON: LUKE 19:41‒48When He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it. Luke 19:41The events described in this Gospel occurred on the day we usually call Palm Sunday when Jesus, amidst public acclaim, entered Jerusalem as the king of grace. On that occasion He proceeded at once to the temple, and there He preached for three days on end. This He had never done before. The sum and content of this Gospel is Christ’s deep concern over those who despise God’s Word and His lament over their ultimate distress.You have often heard what the Word of God is, what it brings with it, and what kind of students it encounters. This Gospel tells us nothing of these aspects. It simply sets before us the punishment and distress which will come upon the Jews because they did not know the time of their visitation. We must take a close look at all this because it also concerns us. If those are punished who do not know the time of their visitation, what will be the fate of those who knowingly persecute, blaspheme, and dishonor the Gospel and the Word of God? Here, however, Jesus speaks only of those who do not know the time of their visitation.There are two ways of preaching against those who despise the Word of God. Christ illustrates one method when He pronounces His woes upon Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, declaring that it will be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom on the day of judgement than for these places (Matthew 11:20‒24).The other method of dealing with those who reject God’s Word is illustrated here in this Gospel when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. He feels the deepest of compassion for these poor, blind people. He does not reprove or threaten them as hardened and deluded sinners. His heart melts in love for them. He has compassion for those enemies.SL 11:1468 (1‒4)AE 78:346-361PRAYER: Lord Jesus, as You shed tears of mercy and compassion over Jerusalem, so also let us experience Your love and compassion whenever we stand before You as sinners in need of salvation, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - SATURDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 25:31-46And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40How will the people whom we help by means of the unrighteous mammon receive us into the eternal habitations? Will they take us by the hand and lead us in? By no means!When we come before God’s judgement, some poor man to whom I have done good will stand up in heaven and say, “He washed my feet; he gave me drink, food, clothing, and so on.” This man will really prove himself a friend to me and a witness to attest my faith. Such a poor beggar will be more useful to me than St. Peter or St. Paul, for they will not be able to help me then. But when a poor beggar will come and say, “O God, this is what he did for me as a member of your flock,” this is going to help me, for God will say, “What you did for him, you did for Me.”These same poor brethren will not be our helpers but our witnesses, so that God may receive us. In saying this, I do not want you to withhold due honor from St. Peter and the other saints, for the saints, too, are members of God and of Christ. But you do better in giving your neighbor a penny than you do in building a gilded church for St. Peter, for to succor the poor is something you are commanded to do, but you are not commanded to build a church for St. Peter.Nowadays, men are prepared to do anything and everything for the saints, who are dead and beyond all assistance from us, but the poor people, whom we should really treat as a holy shrine, are left sitting or lying on the street.SL 11:1454 (20)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let us never fall into the error of seeking showy works to impress our fellowmen rather than the works of love which help our needy neighbor, works truly pleasing to You, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - FRIDAYLESSON: HEBREWS 12:18-24Enter not into judgement with thy servant; for no man living is righteous before thee. Psalm 143:2It seems, on the surface, that Christ in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) actually suggests that we should do good works by means of unrighteous mammon, so that we may obtain eternal life thereby and that those whom we have helped with our mammon may receive us into eternal habitations.Our opponents are not slow to remind us that we have always taught we should not do good works to inherit eternal life and that what we read here seems to be the direct opposite of this doctrine. What are we going to say to this? There are many passages here and there in Scripture which speak of our merits. With these, our opponents think they can set God’s mercy at naught and force us to adopt the position that we must satisfy God’s justice with our good works. Be on your guard against such views and take up your stand on God’s pure grace and mercy alone, saying, “I am a poor sinner, O God; forgive me my sins. I will gladly keep silent about my merits if you will only keep silent about your judgement.”Why was Christ given us as our Mediator? If we want God to enter into judgement with us on the basis of good works, we push Christ aside as our Mediator. And without Christ’s work of mediation, we cannot stand before God. Hence, let Him remain your mediator. Seek the cover of His wings as the psalmist advises: “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge” (Psalm 91:4).Let this be your prayer: “O God, I do not presume to claim any merit before you from my works, but devote them to the service of my neighbor, placing all my faith and trust in your pure mercy alone.”SL 11:1452 (14)PRAYER: We give You eternal thanks and praise, heavenly Father, for the riches of Your grace and mercy continually bestowed upon us poor, lost, and condemned sinners, in and through our Savior and Mediator, Your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - THURSDAYLESSON: PSALM 15Faith working through love. Galatians 5:6Scripture also speaks of our walk of life externally, of how we are to walk with our fellowmen as human beings made up of flesh and blood. That I am accounted truly righteous before God is something that you do not know, and I myself cannot simply take it for granted. I must make my faith sure and certain for myself and other people as well. I must do good to my neighbor so that my faith proves itself.External works are signs of inward faith. These works do not actually make me godly and pious, but they demonstrate that I am godly and pious and attest that I have the right faith. This is how I must understand the injunction of the Gospel, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon,” that is, do good to make your faith sure and certain. So, we must distinguish between the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.Luke describes the fruit of faith as giving to the poor and making friends for ourselves in this way. He means to say to us: “I do not want to speak to you now about faith as such, but about how you should prove your faith. Do good to your neighbor, and if you can really give to him out of the goodness of your heart, you can be quite sure about your faith.”Scripture at times speaks about the fruits of faith, at other times about faith as such. It speaks to us about the fruits faith when we are told in Matthew that on judgement day the Lord will say to those who have been rejected on His left hand, “I was hungry, and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink” (Matthew 25:42). He will point out to those on His left hand that they did not really believe in Him and will demonstrate their unbelief from their lack of fruits of faith.SL 11:1451 (11-12)PRAYER: Lord God, faith that does not prove itself in works of love is a dead faith and of no value at all, as You plainly demonstrate in many clear passages of Your holy Word. Grant us Your grace and strength at all times to prove that our faith is a faith that works by love, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - WEDNESDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 12:33-37“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45When Christ declares that we should make friends for ourselves by means of the unrighteous mammon, it is quite clear that He means that we should do good works, on the basis of which these friends will receive us into the eternal habitations (Luke 16:9).This may sound rather strange to those who have been accustomed to the proclamation of salvation by faith alone. But there is nothing in this Gospel which conflicts with this proclamation. With a Christian, faith and love are everything. We are accounted righteous before God by faith alone; we prove or demonstrate this faith by works of love. I cannot perform any acts of piety unless God’s grace has previously taken possession of my heart. If I am to make friends for myself by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, I must first be accounted righteous before God.Two facts hold good here; a bad tree cannot produce good fruit, and, contrariwise, a good tree cannot product bad fruit. The conclusion, then, is not so difficult. If I am to do good by my use of mammon, I must be truly righteous in my heart beforehand, for God looks at the heart; He regards my works according to the disposition of my heart. I point out these distinctions lest you attempt to force works into the heart.Before I can do good works, I must be accounted righteous in God’s sight by faith in Christ. You do not build here from the outside inwards, nor do you start building from the roof. You commence with the foundation, and in things Christian this is faith.SL 11:1450 (9-10)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, it is faith and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness that forms the beginning of everything in us and our works that is really good in your sight and in the true interests of our neighbor. Preserve us in the faith which always rests and trusts in you alone, for Christ our Savior’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - TUESDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 10:16-23“The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8To understand the story in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) correctly, consider St. Paul’s statement, “Adam…was a type of the one who was to come” (Romans 5:14). Adam was a type of Christ. How can the apostle compare Adam with Christ when Adam brought sin and death upon us, and Christ has brought us righteousness and life?St. Paul compares Adam with Christ in respect to origin and race, not in regard to fruit and work. Adam is the origin and head of all sinners, whereas Christ is the origin and head of all saints. We have inherited nothing else from Adam but sin, condemnation, and our eternal curse; from Christ, however, we have obtained righteousness and salvation. You cannot make these two extremes agree, for sin is punishable and righteousness is praiseworthy. But in respect to origin, there is a comparison: even as sin and death have penetrated to all men through Adam, so, through Christ, righteousness and life have become available for all men.So, in the Gospel, Christ compares the unrighteous man with the righteous man. As the unrighteous man acts shrewdly with his unrighteousness and villainy, so we should act wisely in matters of justice and piety. This is the point of the comparison, as Jesus Himself explains when He says, “The sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light.” The “sons of light” should learn prudence from the “sons of darkness,” or the world. Even as they are clever in all their doings, so also should “the sons of light” be cleaver in their doings. That is also why Christ adds the words, “in their own generation.”SL 11:1448 (6-7)PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, it is Your will that we should be just as wise and prudent in regard to what is good, as unbelieving men are in regard to what is evil. Establish us in everything that is good, that we always prove ourselves Your wise and prudent followers, through Jesus Christ, in whom You have given us all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - MONDAY LESSON: 1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19 “The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence; for the sons of this world are wiser in their own generation than the sons of light.” Luke 16:8 We shall understand the story by which Jesus makes his point in this week’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-9) in its simple meaning, without introducing a large number of subtleties into it, as Jerome has done. It is not always necessary to search out such a pointed meaning; the milk of the story is enough for us. We do not necessarily have to explain here in what way this steward had wasted his master’s goods, and how it comes to pass that even after this he still succeeds in using up his master’s property for himself treacherously, fraudulently, and falsely. Christ concludes that the steward acted prudently or astutely. He does not praise him for being good. He actually finds fault with him for having wasted his master’s goods and also for ensuring the continuance of his comfortable existence by treacherously playing fast and loose with his master’s goods. What the master in the story commends is that this man did not forget his self-interest in a critical situation; he commends the steward’s craftiness. It is like saying of a harlot who has the whole world at her feet, “She is a clever harlot.” From all this, Christ draws the conclusion: just as this steward displays outstanding craftiness in matters concerning his earthly welfare, we also should be deeply concerned about our eternal welfare and eternal life. SL 11:1448 (5) PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, the treasures and riches of heaven and its glories far outweigh the most desirable riches and treasures that our earthly life affords. Grant us a zeal and concern for our spiritual welfare that is at least the equal of the craftiness and shrewdness whereby men sell their souls for earthly happiness. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen. Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY IX - SUNDAYLESSON: LUKE 16:1-9He who trusts in his riches will wither, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28In this Gospel, “mammon” means surplus sustenance, including money, with which one can help others without injury to oneself. It is called “unrighteous mammon” by our Lord because of its daily use for unrighteous purposes and because it incites men to all kinds of unrighteousness.“Mammon” is also God’s creation, like wine and corn, and God’s creatures are good. But men can misuse God’s good creatures and can fall into much sin in acquiring them. St. Paul tells the Ephesians that they should make the most of the time “because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). The “time” or “the days” are not evil in themselves, but much evil occurs during these days or this time.Similarly, he speaks in Romans of “the day of wrath” (Romans 2:5), although the “day” in itself is quite good. But because God’s “wrath” will be manifested on this day, it derives its name from this fact. So also, because “mammon” is used for all kinds of unrighteous ends, Christ here call it “unrighteous mammon.” It is surplus sustenance which we should use to relieve the needs of our neighbor and to help him. If we do not use it for this purpose, it becomes “unrighteous mammon” for us; we possess it unjustly, and it is stolen in God’s sight.Before God we are in duty bound to give, to lend, and even to let men take what we have. According to the common proverb, the biggest moneybags are the greatest thieves. They have the biggest surplus and give away the least.SL 11:1447 (2-4)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may the good gifts of Your creation never become a snare to us nor incite us to all sorts of acts of unrighteousness, either in sins of omission or sins of commission. Grant us grace to use these gifts for our own welfare and the sustenance of our neighbor, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:291-301.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - SATURDAYLESSON: LUKE 6:46-49No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11We must remain free judges with authority to judge, accept, or reject even what popes or councils decide. If we accept anything, we should accept it because it agrees with our conscience as instructed by Holy Scripture, not just because pope or council orders it. St. Paul says in Romans that if a man has prophecy, it should be in agreement with the faith (Romans 12:6). All prophecy slanted towards works and not leading genuinely to Christ or to your own consolation is not in agreement with faith, no matter how pleasant it may be, like the revelations of the hobgoblins, masses, pilgrimages, fasts, and the search after the merits of the saints.In these matters, many of the fathers have erred, including Gregory (the Great), Augustine, and many others. Not the least of their errors was to take away our authority to judge doctrine for ourselves. The false idea that we owe obedience to the pope and councils without question is a heart-breaking affliction which began at a definite point in history. So, you must also once again begin to say, “God has said this; God has not said this,” or “The councils have decided this,” you are building on sand.There is no other judge on earth in spiritual matters and on Christian doctrine than a human being who has the true faith in his heart, whether it be a man or a woman, young or old, servant or maid, learned or unlearned. God is no respecter of persons. All who live according to His commandments are alike dear to Him, and so they all have authority to judge doctrine.SL 11:1398 (14-15)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You have bestowed great and wonderful privileges upon us as Your children by faith in Christ Jesus. May it please You to preserve and keep us in these privileges, strong in faith and hope, for Christ our Savior’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - FRIDAYLESSON: 1 JOHN 4:1-6“He who is of God hears the words of God; the reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” John 8:47Do not let yourself be persuaded to believe in all simplicity what the pope says or what the councils have decided. If you recognize God in the truth of His Word, you have the rule, the measure, and the yardstick whereby you may form a judgement on all the doctrine of the fathers, namely, when you know that Christ is our salvation, that He rules us, and that we are sinners.So, if someone suggests that you must become a monk, or that you must do this or that to make sure of your salvation because faith alone is not enough for salvation, you can say in all certainty, “You are lying; your doctrine is false because he who believes in Christ is saved.”From where have we learnt this? From the faith in our hearts which believes this and this alone. No one can take adequate precautions against error unless he is led by the Spirit of God Himself. St. Paul says to the Corinthians: “The spiritual man judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one” (1 Corinthians 2:15). False doctrine can be properly judged only by the believer who is led by the Holy Spirit.SL 11:1397 (12)PRAYER: Your Spirit, O God, is the Spirit of truth and understanding. Lead us by Your Spirit into the truth and keep us therein. We ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - THURSDAYLESSON: PSALM 119:105-112Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Galatians 1:8-9In regard to God’s Word, you must reach the point when you say, “That is how matters stand; no one will ever move me from my stand on God’s Word.” When you hear the Word say, “You shall not kill,” or “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them,” then you must know that this is Christ’s doctrine over against the decisions of all the councils, even though all men say otherwise.This is also the case with the doctrine that we cannot help ourselves in the matter of our salvation but must look to Christ as our Savior who, by His suffering and death, has obtained the forgiveness of sins for us. This doctrine you must know and confess in your heart as the truth.If this is not your conviction, you do not have the Christian faith. You may have the Word hanging on your ears or on the tip of your tongue like froth on the water, as Hosea says that Samaria has “her king cut off as foam upon the water” (Hosea 10:7, A.V.). You must believe God’s Word, not just as though it is made up of words preached by Peter, but as a Word which God has commanded you to believe.I say all this so that we should return once again to the Gospel and note from what fountain the foundation of our faith flows and to remind you that you have the authority to pronounce judgement on all that is set before you. I do not build my faith on any man and should not do so. I must answer for myself when I am confronted by death.SL 11:1397 (11)PRAYER: The truth of Your Word, O God, is a sure and certain guide for us in all matters of faith and life. Bestow Your Holy Spirit upon us in such a measure that we understand, believe and confess Your Word, for Christ the Savior’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - WEDNESDAYLESSON: PSALM 119:89-96We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. 1 Thessalonians 2:13God makes His Word known to us through men, and He proclaimed it and had it written down especially through the apostles. St. Peter and St. Paul did not speak their own words, but God’s Word, as St. Paul also assures the Thessalonians when he says to them, “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”The Word may well be preached to me, but no one can implant it in my heart except God alone. God must speak His Word to my heart, otherwise nothing comes of it. If God keeps silent, the Word is not really spoken to my heart. Hence, no one will ever force me to give up the Word which God Himself has taught me. This I must know as certainly as I know that two and three make five. This remains true even if all councils say otherwise. If they say otherwise, I know that they are lying. Likewise, one yard is more than half a yard; this is certain. Even if the whole world says otherwise, I know that this does not change such facts. Who forces me to this conclusion? No one but the truth alone, which is so complete and so certain that no one can deny it.This is also the case with the truth which God has implanted in our hearts. I am not so concerned about the opinion of Augustine, Jerome, St. Peter, St. Paul, or even of the archangel Gabriel from heaven—I want to have God’s Word and what God Himself says.SL 11:1396 (8-10)PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, we praise and thank You for the sure and certain truth which You have set forth in Your Word. Make us steadfast and immovable in this truth, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - TUESDAYLESSON: 2 PETER 1:19-21Whoever speaks, [speak] as one who utters oracles of God. 1 Peter 4:11You must be just as sure and certain about the Word of God as you are sure and certain that you live, and even more so. For on this Word alone your conscience must take its stand.No matter how many men come along, or even angels and the whole world, with some sort of conclusion, if you cannot make such a judgement or reach such a conclusion, you are lost. You cannot simply accept the judgement of the pope or of anyone else. You must be so constituted that you can say, “This is what God says; God does not say this. This is correct; that is not correct.” Otherwise, you cannot stand your ground.If you are on your deathbed and take up your stand on the pope and the councils, saying, “The pope says this; the councils have decided that; the holy fathers like Augustine and Ambrose have concluded this,” the devil will immediately shoot holes in your claims with the question, “What if these statements were incorrect? What if they erred?” If such temptation comes upon you, you have already succumbed. Here you must be quite sure and say, “This is God’s Word. On this I will surrender body and life and a hundred thousand necks if I had them.”St. Paul says to the Corinthians, “I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:3-5).SL 11:1395 (6-7)PRAYER: Lord, You have given us a sure and certain Word to establish us in the faith and to remove far from us all uncertainty and doubt. Enable us at all times to live up to our convictions and to confess Your holy name without fear or favor, in Jesus’ name. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - MONDAYLESSON: ROMANS 11:17-20“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Matthew 7:15We should note very carefully that the Lord Jesus orders Christians and gives them authority to be judges over all doctrine, to pronounce judgement on whether it is correct or not. This authority was filched from us by false Christians for something like a thousand years, so that we had no authority to pronounce judgement on any doctrine but simply had to accept, without expressing any judgment, whatever the pope and the councils determined.This Gospel completely overthrows the papacy and all councils. We are not obliged to accept what the pope enjoins or what men set up. Therefore, I say once more, take careful note of this Gospel. Neither the pope nor the councils have received the command to set up and determine what faith is. Christ says here, “Beware of false prophets.” Either the Gospel must be lying, or the pope with the councils.Christ tells us that, as Christians, we have the right to judge all doctrine and what has been set up for us to hold or not to hold. Christ is not speaking only to the pope but to all Christians. Just as Christ’s former words are spoken to all, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” (verse 12), so also these words exclude no one, “Beware of false prophets.” From these words it is quite clear that I have the right and duty to judge doctrine.Hence, I am obliged to say here, “Pope, you and your councils have made decisions. I now have to judge whether I can accept these decisions or not, for you will not be at my side to answer for me when I have to die. So, I have to see to it where I stand, and I must be sure of my ground.”SL 11:1394 (3-5)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Your Word is the truth, and You have given us full and ready access to this Word of truth. Grant us a sure and certain understanding of Your Word, that we may always stand fast in our faith and openly confess the truth of Your Word, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VIII - SUNDAYLESSON: MATTHEW 7:15-23“Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” Matthew 7:12After explaining the commandments of God as reported in Matthew, chapters five and six and in the earlier part of chapter seven, the Lord concludes His discussion with the words, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.” This is a Christian doctrine and a neat summary of the whole of Christianity.Following on this, we have the present Gospel (Matthew 7:15-23), in which the Lord performs the office of a godly shepherd and teacher and warns us to beware of false teachers. It is as though He meant to say, “There you have your doctrine; from now on, beware of other doctrines. For it is certain that wicked teachers and false prophets will arise wherever this Word is preached.”This we must consider very carefully that there are two brands of doctrine: correct and good doctrine and false, misleading doctrine. There are two brands of doctrine, one always to be found alongside the other. This is how matters have stood from the beginning, and this is how it will be until the end of the world. We achieve nothing at all by withdrawing in silence and seeking security without trouble and annoyances. The wicked doctrine of men, the devil’s doctrine, and all our foes will oppose us unceasingly. We must never imagine that all our battles are over. We are not yet “out of the woods.” Hence, the Lord gives us a very serious warning and says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”SL 11:1394 (1-2)PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have given us very clear, precise teaching and instruction on what we are to believe as Your disciples. Implant Your Word in our hearts in such a way that we understand and keep it, for Your truth’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:234-245.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - SATURDAYLESSON: COLOSSIANS 1:15-20He [Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17This Gospel (Mark 8:1-9) sets Christ before us as a rich, powerful lord and steward. To be sure, He is a rich miller and baker in one, better than any other that the world has ever seen, and He has learnt His trade very well. He really draws on a number of trades at once and without any human help at all. He ploughs and harvests, threshes, grinds and bakes, almost all in the twinkling of an eye.It is a miracle and incomprehensible to human reason how He could feed so many thousand men, without counting women and children, so that they were satisfied, and much more was taken up in broken pieces than they had at the outset. And He did it all on the instant with a word. He merely touches the bread and hands it out for distribution, and enough has been ground baked and prepared for four thousand or more people.The five thousand whom He fed on another occasion wanted to take Him by force and make Him their King (John 6:15). They thought that a man who simply had to put his hand into one basket or one pocket to provide all their needs could prove himself an excellent leader for them. He could actually do this and become such a king. Remember also the coin which Peter found in the mouth of the fish (Matthew 17:27).He can certainly perform His wonders when, where, and how He wills. He could bring enough bread and water out of a stone to feed the world. He actually does perform such miracles daily for the whole world. All that the world has is provided by His miracles, which are no less, as St. Augustine also has shown, than His feeding of the four thousand.SL 11:1379 (15-16)AE 78:257-258PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, in whom all things in this world hold together, provide us with all that we need for our faith and lives now and always, in Your name and for Your mercy’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - FRIDAYLESSON: ROMANS 12:1-8Christ ... suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 1 Peter 2:21In the Gospels, we are taught both faith and love. Christ is portrayed to us from two viewpoints: from the viewpoint of faith, that we should repose our whole faith and trust in Him and not indulge in anxious care and worry; and from the viewpoint of love. Just as He does to us in His concern for us, feeding us, giving us drink, and clothing us out of free love alone—and not just to be useful to us or as a reward for our merits—so also, we should do good freely to our neighbors, so that, just as He is Christ for us, we should also be Christ for them.Here we see that many of the works performed in times past by the religious are vain and even damned. For they were not performed in the interests of the neighbor, but for the sole reason of piling up personal merits before God.True Christian works must never be done with any ulterior motive; they must always be quite free, so that they redound to our neighbor’s welfare and are a completely free gift to him. They are, so to say, thrown into a common pool from which anyone can draw.This is what Christ Himself did. He threw all His benefits into a common pool. He gave His doctrine, Word, and life to the congregation as His free gift to them. Blessed are those who accept this gift of Christ with thanksgiving.SL 11:1372 (15-16)PRAYER: Shine in our darkened hearts and lives with Your Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, that we may learn to love others as You have loved us, and that, as You are Christ for us, we may also be Christ for them. Grant us this for Your mercy, truth, and love’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - THURSDAYLESSON: PSALM 33:8-22“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” Mark 8:2-3What a friend we have in Jesus! He is even concerned about the welfare of those despicable stomachs of ours. Our hopes must be aroused, and we must certainly find comfort in Christ’s words regarding the multitude on this occasion. They have been waiting upon Him for three days with nothing to eat, and Christ is determined to meet their needs. Here you see that all those who cling steadfastly to God’s Word are fed by God Himself. Here we have an example of the true nature and power of faith; it flows solely from God’s Word.Hence, my dear friends, let us really make a beginning of believing. Unbelief is the overall reason for all the sin and vice which has gained the upper hand in all social ranks in our day. How does it come about that there are so many silly women and rogues everywhere, so many traitors, thieves, robbers, usurers, murderers, and those who have ecclesiastical livings for sale? All this results from unbelief. All these people form their judgements on human reason alone. Reason follows nothing but what it can see, and what it cannot see it cannot comprehend. And so, reason cannot comprehend how ultimately, by refusing to place its trust in God through faith, it must end in self-despair in the presence of so many rascals and scoundrels. This is what results where men allow reasons to assume all controls and shut out faith in God.SL 11:1371 (13-14)PRAYER: Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things, graft in our hearts true love of Your name. Increase in us true religion, nourish us with true goodness, and, of Your great mercy, ever keep us in the same, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - WEDNESDAYLESSON: PSALM 145:14-21He has filled the hungry with good things. Luke 1:53In the discussion on this Gospel of the feeding of the four thousand, we have said quite a lot about entrusting our bodily welfare to God and God’s assurances to us that we will never lack the temporal blessings we need.We also want to say something about the spiritual blessings which we need, more particularly in the face of death. When we have death before our eyes, we will find that we would rather continue to live; we will see hell before us and would much rather have heaven; we will be conscious of God’s judgement and would much rather have His grace. In short, we will see nothing of what we would like to have before our eyes.Against death, hell, and God’s judgement no creature can come to our help, but, if I have faith, I say to myself, “Faith is a basis on which I obtain what I do not see; if I believe, nothing can harm me. Even though I see nothing before me but death, hell, and God’s judgement, I must pay attention to none of these, but wholly believe that God, by virtue of this assurance and not through my own merits, will give me grace, salvation, and life.”This is what it means to cling to God in true faith. This is pictured in the living example of the four thousand people who clung to God with this faith alone. They were sure that God would feed them and refused to be side-tracked by any sophistries of human reason.SL 11:1370 (11-12)PRAYER: Comfort us with Your gracious promises and assurances, heavenly Father, in the days of our pilgrimage here on earth, but especially also when death comes upon us. Let us depart this life without any of the uncertain props of human reason, trusting only and solely in Your grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - TUESDAYLESSON: PSALM 37:16-26With God nothing will be impossible. Luke 1:37Faith is the firm foundation upon which I wait for that which I do not see. Hence, I must always have enough. Before faith would ever experience dire need, the angels would come from heaven and dig bread out of the earth so that a believer with such faith should be fed. Heaven and earth would have to pass away before God allowed such a person to suffer want in clothing or any other necessity. The comforting, powerful words of God’s assurances and promises call for such certainty and conviction on our part.But if one took counsel with human reason, one would soon get the reply, “It is not possible. You will have to wait a long time before roast ducks fly into your mouth.” Reason sees nothing and grasps nothing. There is nothing there.This was also the reaction of the apostles with their questions, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” They thought, of course, that it would be quite impossible. Had they seen a big heap of money, butchers’ stalls and bakers’ shops ready at hand, they would have found it easy to offer advice and to afford some comfort here. This would have provided them with a good, rational solution to their problems. But when they saw nothing, they could offer no useful advice. They regarded the feeding of these people as an impossibility in the absence of the wherewithal to do this.SL 11:1370 (9-10)PRAYER: Your mercy and goodness towards us, heavenly Father, are unending and beyond all our powers of telling. We praise and thank You for all this goodness which we experience in body and soul, in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - MONDAYLESSON: EPHESIANS 3:14-21Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1Here the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that faith is the basis on which we rely for blessings which we do not yet see, or, in other words, I must wait for a blessing that I can neither see nor hear but can only hope for.This was also the situation in the Gospel (for this week, Mark 8:1-9). Here we have a large group of men, almost four thousand of them, who with their wives and children have been with Jesus and His disciples for three days with nothing to eat. This was real fasting—I would have you understand. They are now hungry, far from home, and without the necessary provisions to sustain themselves. The writer of Hebrews says that faith is an assurance whereby I hope for blessings that I cannot see. This is the kind of faith that we find here in this multitude: they see no food at all, but they still hope that God will sustain them.What does Jesus do here? What attitude does He take in this business? It would almost seem that He has no clues at all, for He goes to the apostles and asks them what to do about the problem of feeding these people. Their reply is characteristic enough, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” Here we see how human reason and faith not infrequently walk along together. We see that the smarter human reason is, the less it is in line with the works of God.Jesus put His question to the disciples so that each of them should learn and recognize from the way his own reason reacted, that there is really no way in which reason and faith can be brought together. Here we learn that, as soon as faith begins, reason must be shut out from that time or granted “leave of absence.”SL 11:1368 (6-7)PRAYER: Loving Father, on whose bountiful providence we wholly depend, give us at Your pleasure whatever necessities this life requires. Above all, continue to feed our souls with spiritual food, the bread of life from heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VII - SUNDAYLESSON: MARK 8:1-9The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17Scripture holds up a twofold picture before us: a picture of fear, that is, a picture of the boundless and strict wrath of God before which no one can stand the test, a picture which would mean utter despair for every one of us if we did not have faith. Over against this, the picture of grace is held up before us, so that faith should regard it very closely and draw from it a friendly, comforting confidence, with the hope that we can never overestimate God’s goodness towards us. There is always still much more with Him.You have often heard that there are two kinds of blessings: spiritual and bodily. This Gospel (Mark 8:1-9) deals with temporal and bodily blessings. It teaches us children’s faith; it is a Gospel for the weak.In this Gospel, we are taught to look to God as the source of all good and to learn to trust Him. From our experience of God’s blessings in the temporal sphere we should also learn to trust Him in regard to spiritual blessings. This Gospel reminds us of the fact that Christ does look after our bodily needs. From this we may well infer that He also wants to nourish our soul with spiritual blessings.If I am not prepared to entrust the sustenance of my body to Him, I will be much less disposed to entrust the eternal welfare of my soul to Him. If I cannot trust a man to give me one florin, how can I trust him to give me ten? If I cannot look to someone for a piece of bread, much less can I entertain any hope that he will give me house and home and a whole estate.SL 11:1367 (2-3)PRAYER: Heavenly Father, source of everything that is good for our bodies and souls, continue to pour Your good blessings upon us in accordance with the promises and assurances You have given us in and through Christ, our Savior. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:202-210.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - SATURDAYLESSON: ROMANS 8:1-9“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17What are we to learn from Christ’s interpretation of the Law in His Sermon on the Mount? First, you should learn that if you were to be judged by your obedience to the Law, you would have to be condemned as a child of sin and the devil. From this lost condition you cannot possibly rescue yourself by your own resources. You have no alternative but to seek refuge in God and beseech Him to change you. Otherwise, all is lost, and you are ruined.Therefore, take hold of God’s Word and promises that He is willing to change you, and this will prove itself a source of great help to you. Say to God, “See here, my God, you have set up Christ, your beloved Son, as an example for me. You want me to live as He did. I cannot do this. Change me, dear God, and grant me your peace.”God comes to our assistance and says, “Because you acknowledge your need of help and seek grace from Me, I will change you and make a new man of you. And though you are not perfect like Christ, as you should be, My Son’s life and perfection shall come to your assistance.” There must always be something to humble us and inspire us with healthy fear.This is real comfort—depending not on our own ability but on the fact that we have a gracious God who forgives us and on our faith in Christ, not on our own “worthiness.” This also purifies us from day to day, and, wherever there is something still lacking, we trust in Christ to provide us with adequate consolation. This is also the chief thrust of this particular Gospel (Matthew 5:20-26).SL 11:1350 (11-12)PRAYER: Thanks be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for the hope of salvation which You have provided in the perfect fulfillment of Your heavenly Father’s Law for us, which you offer us in Your Gospel of salvation, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:179-187.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY VI - FRIDAYLESSON: LUKE 12:57-59“Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:25-26We do injury to our neighbor in many ways. When I do not protect his good name to the best of my ability and when I am unfriendly to him and refuse to help him, I am already his enemy. If I want to be acceptable to God, I must first become reconciled to my neighbor. If I do not do this, I cannot be acceptable to Him. God rejects any service I may render Him if I have previously failed in service to my neighbor. Our lives hitherto have left much to be desired. In our insane rush to secure personal benefits for ourselves from the saints, we have almost completely neglected our neighbor. The lord reminds us here that, instead of doing such wonderful things for departed saints, we should be doing things for our living neighbors. We should pay the closest attention to the services we render our neighbor. God attaches no importance to a church we build for Him if it means that we have neglected the needs of our neighbor. We have been taught the very opposite of this. We have been taught to put everything into pretentious foundations and institutions at the expense of our needy neighbor. It is God’s will that we serve our neighbor, render him his due, put all matters right with him, and become reconciled to him; otherwise, He does not want to see us or hear us. Moreover, if my adversary makes an approach to me, I should willingly forgive him. SL 11:1341 (15-18)PRAYER: You have shown us, O Lord, that there is never any gain in putting off reconciliation and even great danger to our faith and piety in postponing it. Give us an open heart and spirit that is ever ready to forgive and forget, after Your own example and for Your name’s sake. Amen. Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:167-178.