Pascha (Passover) characterizes the life of the disciples of Jesus. St. John Chrysostom: Let not any one of them that eat this Passover look towards Egypt, but towards Heaven, towards “Jerusalem that is above.” (Gal. 4:26.) On this account thou eatest with thy loins girded, on this account thou eatest with shoes on thy feet, that thou mayest know, that from the moment thou first beginnest to eat the Passover, thou oughtest to set out, and to be upon thy journey. And this implies two things, both that we must depart out of Egypt, and that, whilst we stay, we must stay henceforth as in a strang ..read more

The Resurrection of Our Lord 1 Cor. 5:6-8 March 31, 2024   Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! “Your boasting is not good.” So opens today’s Epistle. Boasting—or pride—is the fundamental human problem. So we must be told, even on Easter, “Your boasting is not good.” The broader context is a scandal in the Corinthian church. But the problem of pride, of boasting, is universal. It is written in 1 Sam., Do not boast, and do not speak lofty words nor allow big talk to come out of your mouth, because the Lord is a God of knowledge.… [1 Kgdms 2:3, Lexham English Septuagint ..read more

A gem from Luther: We have Easter as often as we celebrate the Mass, preach, and administer the holy Sacrament. With us Christians every day is Easter, except that for ancient memory’s sake we observe a special Easter once a year. And that is not wrong but good and laudable, to observe the time when Christ died and rose again, even though our remembrance of His suffering and resurrection is not restricted to such a time but may be done on any day. As He says: “As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:25). LW 13, pp355–356 ..read more

Good Friday The Passion of Jesus Christ according to Saint John March 29, 2024   Our self-image is always wrong. In times of prosperity, we perceive ourselves with pride. In times of adversity, we may rage and demand better; or, sink into self-loathing. But it’s all wrong, the self-love and the self-hatred. The only right image is to view ourselves cross-eyed; which is to say, we see who we are by looking at Christ’s cross. There we find that our pride is damned, but there is no cause for self-loathing, for the stretched-wide arms of Jesus proclaim the Father’s forgiveness. The cross is t ..read more

Good Friday Passion Vespers St. Luke 23:34 March 29, 2024   Other people hurt us. They hurt us with cruel words, breaking promises, or not including us. And when these things happen to us, our natural reaction is to be angry.  We might respond in kind – hurt the person back in the same way. But even if we don’t, we tend to hold onto the sin. We remember it, ruminate on it. Over the years, the grudges heap up. The grudges make us angry and bitter. What does not come naturally is to forgive. Not just move on and pretend nothing happened, but really, truly forgive. Forgiveness is a gift ..read more

Holy Thursday John 13:1-15, 34-35 March 28, 2024   Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread and gave it to His disciples. And the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ immediately started to quarrel. St. Luke tells us, “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” (Luke 22:24 NKJV) After this, instead of praying, they slept. Then they fought the guards, Peter slicing off a man’s ear. Then they ran. But first, they argued. About who was greatest. John tells us that Satan entered the heart of Judas. But Judas was n ..read more

Holy Thursday Matins John 13:1-15, 34-35 March 28, 2024   What would you do? If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do? You could try to have fun. Eat your favorite food. Play a game. Watch your favorite movie one last time. Maybe you’d try to finish up something left undone. Make sure everything was put in order. You might even have some things to get rid of. Things you don’t want anybody else to see. Things that would embarrass you. What does Jesus do? He knows He’s going to die tomorrow. He knows that His friend, Judas, has made a secret deal with His enemies. Soon ..read more

Palm Sunday - March 24, 2024 St. John 12.12-19; St. Matthew 26.1—27.66 Disciples whom Jesus loves: This week is our holiest of weeks. Holy Week comes at the end of a season of self-denial, a season of repentance, a season of renewal in prayer. Has it been such a season for you? If not, you’re not alone. Lent can lead to disappointment and frustration. Instead of growing in holiness, growing as a disciple of Jesus, the season exposes our true identity. It’s all there in the Passion account: Frauds; conspirators; a pragmatist; a traitor. Lent is meant for us to discover anew the love of God. We ..read more

Wednesday of Judica + March 20, 2024   Most people are practical atheists. They go through life as if there is “no death, and for that matter, no God” [Luther]. That’s true of us as well. God is a matter for the intellect, and perhaps a worldview. But we live as though we won’t really die, and as if there is, for all practical terms, no judgment. The “celebrations of life” people hold now pretend that what has happened isn’t real. The funeral homes with flowers everywhere—flowers that themselves will be dead in mere days—cover with their sickening sweetness the stench of death in a corps ..read more

March 14, 2024   Eric and Stephanie, it’s been a long and unexpected journey to this day. But this is not the end. Rather, it’s a new beginning. And it’s not a journey for which you can enlist the help of jet aircraft, even if your call sign is Magic. There’s no magic in this journey, but the hard work of service. St. John Chrysostom said that in marriage, husband and wife become companions on a journey. He says there are two kinds of marriages: those that bring great blessings to the husband and wife, their family, and their neighbors; but there are other marriages which seem to bring fe ..read more