It’s Friday…
And are we there yet?
Yes, the weather is a tease! 60+ today! Well, even if we can still see some of that white stuff… maybe still… (NO MORE!) it will be March this Sunday… this Sunday, the 2nd Sunday of Lent!
So no, it’s not Easter yet!
But each Sunday, even in the middle of Lent is a “mini” Easter. On those days we can end our fastings to celebrate the Lord’s Day.
That is why we worship on Sunday, as it is the day of the Resurrection. Not the old Sabbath Day… no… the New Sabbath of the New Creation! This is how we honor it—by keeping it Holy.
Now you may still fast until the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. As I have said before, this you can do all year, even when it is not a penitential season, as a good practice to prepare for the reception of the Lord’s Body and Blood—the True Food… the Medicine of Immortality as St. Ireneus called it.
But each Sunday is a feast day. We are to declare His Death on this day, until He returns, just as Jesus told us to do.
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy…
How do we do this?
Well, the Day is Holy because God has declared it to be so, but we should have it be so among us. The Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s prayer all go together, if you hadn’t noticed.
We will be keeping the Commandments (as that is how they are written—this you will be doing as you are the people of God—that is what Christians do!) – and we can because of the faith we have been given to confess (The Creed), and thus now we are able to lift up our heads to pray now to OUR FATHER.
If humans try to keep commandments (and we do so by nature, even while hating to and hating God for making such demands) they put them in reverse order.
We try and keep commandments 4 thru 10, and then say, “See, we are good people!”
But the first 3? We toss them aside as if we never heard them, or…
Replace them with our own ideas as to what they mean. Like what?
In the woods, I am so close to God! I pray all the time while on the boat on the lake. Being in nature is being close to God…
I am a spiritual being… sensitive… and deep… I walk in God’s presence all the time… I can feel Him… why ruin it with noisy people? They never understand people like me anyway…
Organized religion is a man made thing.
It’s me and Jesus against the world!
I could go on. I have heard a lot of things. I have heard a lot of things about keeping the 2nd and 1st Commandments too!
Kind of like, God is a big boy, He can handle it… it’s not like I mean it … not really… it just how people talk…
We worry…
We are busy…
We are tired…
We don’t like being with people…
We think house church is closer to the original and early Christian church. This is more authentic. (No, it isn’t!)
What happens on that DAY, and He says WHO ARE YOU? Go, for I never knew you?
But Lord… didn’t I pray to you all the time…?
No, (Jesus will reply) you prayed at something…
But Lord… didn’t I worship you in your great creation?
No, (Jesus will say) you worshiped creation not the creator!
You never came to where I said I would meet you. You despised your brothers and sisters. You despised my Word. You never GLADY HEARD or LEARNED it from those who I sent as teachers and preachers.
Leave now. There is a place I have prepare for such as you, nameless ones…
But what about all those people I helped. I kept commandments 4 thru 10 pretty well, didn’t I?
Did you not know that keeping the first would be keeping the others?
But from what you said, you still do not know a thing.
If you were there. If you opened your ears instead filling them with your own voice. If you did not harden your heart against your fellow Christians…
You would have known, that it is not ever about your Righteousness. Most pharisees did better than you. But yours had to be greater still and there has been no greater other than ME, your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
You would have heard that your righteousness is useless… worse than useless – an afront to God! No, you need mine… and I give it freely.
And from this—from this hearing and sharing in each Sabbath Day, you are enabled by the Holy Spirit to grow into keeping both tables of the Law… for fun… because it is good and right so to do….
Not because I am counting anymore (unless someone insists they can be counted for their salvation)…
But you would know that the Sabbath Day was made for you—a day for you to receive more Grace and Mercy.
And I know your mother taught you right. You then say thank you—part of that day, your response is (should be) as natural as breathing, to do this… and to carry on as you would at any other grand event that has great things happening.
I saw you when Tom Brady did his thing in all his glory. Why him, and not me?
And…
So…
This is what Lent is for. To bring us back to our senses. To know where and when … and WHY we get what we need for this life and for the next… on that DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE FOR IT!
As no, you cannot get them anyplace else. This is God’s doing, not the clergy trying to protect their jobs…
I mean if we were, we would not be telling you about how sinful you are. There is someone in a stadium in Texas that is NOT ever doing that.
So simply: YOU ARE BREAKING THE ENTIRE FIRST TABLE OF THE LAW when you do not come and worship with your brothers and sisters on the say chosen to do so.
The Entire God-head promises to be there. Guaranteed! With His Gifts. Gifts of Mercy and Grace.
For an hour or so? Is that really asking too much? For all that He gives us?
Yes, it is Friday, and we might be saying… looking back on our week… what have I done? And what have I left undone?
Yes, but with HIM… the Risen Savior, our Brother, Jesus, as the Psalmist says, “there is plenteous redemption!” [Psalm 130:7].
He awaits! Come… therefore and partake. For all has been made ready.
This coming Sunday – Reminiscere Sunday (2nd Sunday in Lent) – March 1st – 2026
Old Testament – Isaiah 45:20-25
Psalm – 121
Epistle – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
Gospel – Matthew 15:21-28
Sermon – REVEALED – Based on The Gospel Reading
Prayers: For a lasting peace in our world and in our cities—especially Minneapolis! That a lasting one would remain between the people of Israel and Gaza as well as for the people of Russia and the Ukraine. That the people of Iran would be free from tyranny and that the evil there would be put down. For our congregation that it would please our Lord that we would increase in numbers and there remain in this place a congregation that calls upon Him rightly, practicing the faith according to the Scriptures. For those who are being persecuted and murdered because they call upon the name of Jesus—especially in Africa. For the end of violence in our cities and that our schools and congregations would be protected from those who wish them harm. For our families that parents would courageously discipline their children and raise them in the fear of the Lord, teaching them about salvation in Jesus alone.
On Prayer from Luther…
Have you ever wondered what Martin Luther’s prayer life was like?
In one of his letters he describes some of the methods that he used in prayer. This letter was written to an interesting person in his life: his personal barber!
Luther begins the letter by wishing that his barber and others like him would be able to pray even better than he does. He then discusses how prayer can sometimes become joyless and emotionally dry. I found it encouraging that even Luther struggled with prayer sometimes!
Then he lays out three methods of prayer:
- Praying the Lord’s Prayer
- Praying through the Ten Commandments
- Praying through the Creed
Let’s take a look at the second one: Praying the Ten Commandments
The first thing Luther tells us to do is to free ourselves from distractions. Practically speaking for us today, that means taking time out of our busy schedules, taking a deep breathe and turning off the noise of technology around us.
Luther then divides each of the commandments into four parts for prayer. Here’s a summary of each point:
- Instruction– pondering what God intends us to do
- Thanksgiving– praising God for His goodness revealed through the commandment
- Confession– acknowledging our sin
- Prayer– asking God to help us obey Him
To give us a better idea of what this looks like, let’s see how he prays through the commandment, You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Luther writes,
First, I learn that I must keep God’s name in honor, holiness, and beauty; not to swear, curse, not to be boastful or seek honor and repute for myself, but humbly to invoke his name, to pray, praise, and extol it, and to let it be my only honor and glory that he is my God and that I am his lowly creature and unworthy servant. Second, I give thanks to him for these precious gifts, that he has revealed his name to me and bestowed it upon me, that I can glory in his name and be called God’s servant and creature, etc., that his name is my refuge like a mighty fortress to which the righteous man can flee and find protection, as Solomon says. Third, I confess and acknowledge that I have grievously and shamefully sinned against this commandment all my life. I have not only failed to invoke, extol, and honor his holy name, but have also been ungrateful for such gifts and have, by swearing, lying, and betraying, misused them in the pursuit of shame and sin. This I bitterly regret and ask grace and forgiveness, etc. Fourth, I ask for help and strength henceforth to learn this commandment and to be preserved from such evil ingratitude, abuse, and sin against his name, and that I may be found grateful in revering and honoring his name.