|
Worship
|
|
January
2005 Week 1
Matthew 1:1-17 Dear friends, God’s blessings be with
you this day. Happy New Year 2005! Today, we begin to read through the Gospel
of Matthew. We start as Matthew starts, with the genealogy of our Lord. Now,
I recognize that some of the names are difficult to pronounce and unfamiliar
to us. Yet there are names in our Lord’s genealogy that are familiar to us
through the stories we have heard since Sunday school. They are very
important in the life and history
Matthew 1:18-25 Dear friends, may the promises of grace be with you this day. A week ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus. Our devotional for today is Matthew’s story of the birth of our Lord Jesus. In Matthew’s story, we see the sequence of events from Jesus’ conception to his birth. We see how Matthew shares this story with the Jewish community of readers. He identifies Joseph as a righteous man, who does not want to dishonor Mary. In a dream, an angel discloses to him the miraculous event that will soon take place. Joseph in honor takes Mary as his wife and so names the child Jesus, as the angel had directed him. This simple act, solidifies the relationship to the community that fulfills the prophecy is made to King David (2 Sam 7), where he is told that the coming Messiah would be born in his lineage. In the story in Matthew, Jesus’ name gives his identity and purpose, "he will save his people from their sins". The naming of the infant, "Jesus", gives to the world, God’s divine plan. In the infant Jesus, "God will save his people". He will, through him, reconcile the world, which is separated by sin, and draw his people to himself through the forgiveness of sins. This is the good news of the Christmas story. In the next verse, we see the name of Emmanuel, which is also given to the infant child. The name "Emmanuel", also gives a meaning and purpose, "God is with us". In the Christ child, God has come and dwelt among his people. In the celebrations of our Lord’s birth, we remember this glorious event. We take this celebration with us throughout the year. As the stories of Jesus’ life unfold before us throughout the church year, we remember it is the Christ child, who lived, who taught and who healed. Even more so, it is the Christ child that made the final journey to the cross to save us. Through him, we are now drawn closer to the time when he will once again come in all his glory and draw us into his kingdom. For that precious gift, we remember and give thanks to him and God the Father, this day. Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters “C & D”. Week 2
Matthew 2:1-12 Dear friends, may our Lord’s love be with you. Our devotion for today is the visit of the Wise Men to the infant Jesus. In Matthew’s account, the Wise Men came to worship and to offer their gifts to the newborn King. They offer them the gifts of gold, as a gift for a king; of incense, as a gift for a priest and myrrh, a gift of preparation for burial. They offer more however; they offer themselves in worship and in devotion and in faith. In this Epiphany event, they recognize this infant child, as the newborn King of the Jews. As we begin our Epiphany Season, it is a time in which the church recognizes the revelation of God’s saving message to the world in his Son, Jesus of Nazareth. Here, the church recognizes and acknowledges Jesus, as King of kings and Lord of lords. During these five weeks of the Epiphany Season, the story unfolds of God’s plan for salvation. During this season, Jesus openly reveals God’s plan for the salvation of the world by his proclamation of the good news through word and in deed. This good news is ours to receive and it begins here in the worship of the Wise Men in the infancy story. How has God revealed himself to you? Reflect upon those moments in your life when he revealed himself to you. Perhaps it was through reading of scripture, through a mediation reading, or through prayer. Perhaps it was in worship with family and friends. Perhaps it was through the spoken word, a hymn or special music, community prayer or in the sacrament. Perhaps it was through someone who spoke to you in a time when you needed a re-assuring word. Perhaps it was a time when someone did something for you when you needed help. Perhaps it was when you were the giver to someone in need. It is through these common every day events that God reveals himself to us in so many distinct ways. Let us give thanks for that special revealing. Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters "E & F". Matthew 2:13-23 Dear friends, may the message of hope offered through our Lord be with you this day. Our devotional for today is a very disturbing passage. It is one of the saddest of passages in the gospels. The story is after the Wise Men left King Herod’s palace. In this passage, we discover Herod’s plot to kill the infant Jesus. We have just celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus. It was a joyous occasion, as we worshipped with family and friends. How quickly the scene shifts. We see immediately after the announcement of Jesus’ birth in Matthew’s gospel, we have the visit of the Wise Men. It too, is a celebration event. So intent in their visit with the newborn King that they ask directions to where he was born. Upon hearing this “report” of a newborn king, Herod summons the Wise Men and inquire where he may be. Under the pretense of the desire to worship the child, he sends them out in search of him. After they left, an angel came to them in a dream and issued a warning. Fearful of Herod’s threats, they departed from the country. In our passage, Herod discovers
that he was betrayed. He orders the massacre of all the infant boys in the
surrounding area. His sole intent was to destroy the newborn King, who was a
threat to his kingship. Herod’s anger and his jealousy brought about an
inhumane slaughter of a generation of infants. In a short period of time,
there was a time of joy and celebration and life. In a moment, there was
weeping, pain and death. An angel warns Joseph in a dream and he takes Mary
and the infant Jesus and flees to Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters “G & H”. Week 3 Matthew 3:1-12 Dear friends, may the assurances
of God’s peace be with you this day. Our devotional for today is the story of
John the Baptist. In the story, we see John was preaching in the John’s message was a message of
repentance. Repentance by definition is to denounce a wrong, whether it is of
an act or by a word. It is a call to "turn around", to make amends
or to make life anew. Clearly, repentance is an acceptance of one’s
sinfulness, seeking forgiveness and an offering of new life. John addressed
his people, members of the Jewish community, to repent of their sins and to
be baptized with water for repentance. Being cleansed by the water through
repentance, the people of Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters "I & J".
Matthew 3:13-17 Dear friends, may the blessings that comes from the
presence of our Lord, be with you today. Our devotional for today is the
story of the Baptism of our Lord. In this passage, we see that Jesus moves
from In the baptism in which John baptized, he calls for his people to repent and to believe in the one who is to come. John’s baptism was an Old Testament act of cleansing and preparation. It was an act of fulfilling the Law. Jesus came to be baptized and to openly declare of his fulfillment of the Law. As he was baptized, the heavens were opened and a voice declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". The Spirit of God then descended upon him in the form of a dove and anointed him with the power and acceptance of the Father, open for all to witness. Here is the beginning declaration by God himself, this Jesus of Nazareth, is my beloved Son. Jesus’ public baptism officially begins his public ministry. In this act, Jesus is recognized as the Messiah, the Prophet, who came to teach and heal. He is recognized as the Priest, who came to offer the sacrifice of his life to save the world. He is recognized as the King, Lord of the Church and who lives and reigns for all eternity. The office of ministry of Jesus as the Messiah begins here in his baptism. The previous Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. We pray that the words we encounter as we read Matthew’s gospel, prepare us for the celebration of life and strengthen our faith in him in the days ahead. Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana's family, whose last name begin with the letters "K & L". Week 4 Matthew 4:1-11 Dear friends, may the grace that comes from God, be with you this day. Our devotional for today is the story of Jesus’ experience in the wilderness, where Satan tempts him. In this story, Jesus was in the wilderness, fasting. Fasting is a form of preparation. Jesus was there to prepare himself for beginning his ministry among his people. He was there as well to be tempted by Satan. This may be difficult to understand why. But it was done for the sole purpose of the first confrontation with Satan’s power and to overcome it and defeat it. In the temptation sequence, Jesus overcomes Satan’s demands. He would not accomplish his own mission by using his power to satisfy his own needs and desires. So he refuses to turn the stones into bread. He refuses to uses miracles or magic to gather the angels of God before him. So he refuses to throw himself down from the temple. He refuses to compromise with Satan. Thus, he refuses to worship him. So, what does this mean for us? In the temptation story, Jesus overcomes the powerful, suggestive voice of Satan. In overcoming the temptation sequence, our Lord provides the very means in which we also may overcome the temptations Satan places before us. By using God’s Word, Jesus declares the relationship he has with God. That proves to be no match for Satan. At every possible turn, Satan is defeated. You and I are faced with the same temptations. We are faced with human needs that demand immediate gratification. We are faced with scenes in life, calling for the miraculous. We are called for making decisions. Faced with the same demands, we call upon the Spirit of God to empower us with the Word of God to defeat Satan’s temptations. This is a part of our journey every day. May we recognize these powerful influences in our world and may we be strengthened each day to remain faithful to our Lord and the promises he offers. Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters "M & N".
Matthew 4:12-17 Dear friends, may our Lord’s love
be with you this day. Our devotional for today is Matthew’s account of the
beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. We are told that Jesus moves into the
region of Galilee and settles in the community of Matthew 4:18-24 Dear
friends, may the message of hope offered by our Lord be with you this day.
Our devotional for today is the calling of the first disciples of Jesus. In
this passage, Jesus is walking beside the Matthew uses of the word ‘immediately’ and I find that word intriguing. What is behind Matthew’s use of that word? What did Jesus present of himself that these four men immediately left their nets, their work, to follow him? One can only presume. There is no introduction of Jesus in the story, to indicate they knew of him beforehand or that they had heard of him. Perhaps as speculation, the word of a great preacher is walking around the community. Whatever the case, they ‘knew’ something was extremely important about this Jesus and they left their boat and nets and followed him. The call to discipleship with our Lord Jesus has one common identity which is to simply follow. To be a disciple of Jesus is to identify oneself with him. In that ‘call’, our identity with him is through our faith relationship. It encompasses believing in the message of salvation that he offers. Later in his ministry and shortly before his death, Jesus declares to his disciples, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No comes to the Father except through me". This is the message that a disciple believes and follows. Furthermore, it is a message that a disciple also proclaims to those around them. These four disciples and later the others recognized this in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. So great was their faith, that followed him. Later we are told, they recognized him and declared him to be the Messiah, the Son of God. After Pentecost, they proclaimed this message to the world. You and I are recipients of that message. We are blessed. From it, may we be faithful disciples of Jesus well. Prayer Concern: Members of Augustana’s family, whose last name begin with the letters “S, T & W”. Friends, We are now drawing to a close of our Epiphany season. Our Lenten journey now begins early in February this year. During our Lenten Season we will move to chapter 20-27 to read Matthew’s account of the latter days of our Lord’s life. During Holy Week, we will read the Seven Words from the cross. During Easter and the first part of the Easter season, we will read the Easter and post-Easter stories from the Gospels and I Corinthians 15. After that we will resume our readings beginning with chapter 5-19. Pastor Giese |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
