Yes, it’s Friday… and…
AND IT IS REFORMATION!
YAY!
I hope your Luther reading is going well…
But Sandy forgot… to put it in the bulletin…
There will be a TEST on Sunday!
Trick, not a treat?
Depends on the biography you chose to read. There is the Brecht biography of Luther in 3 volumes. That will keep you busy.
But don’t listen to the historical deconstructionists out there—as yes, Luther DID post his 95 theses, by hammer and nail, on the church doors, as a challenge for debate, on this day, 500+ years ago.
Basically, those statements said you can’t buy love! No one’s, and especially not God’s.
That would be a trick of the devil. To think you can.
Even Jesus’ payment for you was not to gain God’s love, as it has always been there, but rather get you and I out of hock so we can go and live with Him for eternity.
The chains were the consequence of the devil’s trick.
You just don’t toss justice aside. You know this. I mean really, we all know this intrinsically. Down to our very cores.
The devil tried this. He got us to try this. But wrongs have to be righted. It is built into the very fabric of creation itself. No one can escape this.
That was the devil’s trick—to get us to believe we can.
Sure, this can be put off for a while, as Adam and Eve did not die immediately.
And God, turned this into a treat…a severe mercy, yes… but…
God did so for our sakes, as Paul tells us in Romans 3:25-26:
“… in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed…”
But it cannot be ignored forever. That is what the Antinomians think. They say that His forgiving the world’s sins was just a decree of God, not because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Don’t listen to them.
Another trick.
Paul goes on to say that God did this:
“…to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” [Romans 5:8]
Yeah, it’s all in there—Romans, specifically, I mean. That is where Luther first had the light bulb come on bright enough to finally see what all this really meant.
It was not trick, but in earnest, a treat—the very free gift of God.
But what a way to trick the devil out of his prey! Yes, at every move. After every turn. Every evil thing, God turns it to the good for us.
Yes, I know… that is hard to understand and accept—especially with the tragic sufferings and deaths of little ones …
We ask why and how could this … be for the good… of anyone…?
No, there is no trick here, even. Although the devil will tell you it is. Like he told Adam and Eve—that here… God is lying. God does not love you, or anyone…not really… He wants something from you.
He is just using you to get His kicks… He is the cat, you are the mouse…
No! Not even once! Do you think God needs us? That we can do something for Him?
Not a chance. He does… He works… His Will …in all things FOR US for! For our good!
Why? Because: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” [Romans 8:28]
Yes, the letter to the Romans again!
But am I called…? You were baptized, weren’t you? Okay, then…
It is why we insist calling that horrid event, at the end of Holy Week, good.
It is Good Friday.
God calls it His Throne of Glory. As He is the Crucified one. Always will be the Lamb Who Is Slain.
As I have mentioned before, the English does not quite capture the perfect tense of the Greek.
Jesus is the one who WAS crucified in the past, and the consequences still remain in effect.
Like when we say we are baptized. We were baptized in the past, and remain so, to this day.
If you say you were married, you are either a widow (widower) or divorced. No, you say you are married, right? Same thing with these texts.
But if we say that Jesus is crucified, we keep Him on the cross! No! Come, put your fingers in the holes in his hands and feet. Put your hand in his side!
It is His privilege to have this title now- The Crucified One. For you and for me. When He said the Father would glorify Him, He was referring to the cross, not His Ascension back to where He was before—
although that too was part of it—but as the Lamb Who Is The Slain One—The Crucified One.
For us. To roll back all that sin rolled over and crushed in His good creation. Us. And then the rest…
That is the treat!
I know, it is Friday….
Yeah, It’s Reformation!
And Sunday?
Well, tomorrow, technically…. is ALL SAINTS! But we will celebrate it on Sunday.
That day we remember all those who have gone before us in the faith, and who will meet us in the air with Jesus, if we don’t join them before He comes back.
Let the celebration begin!
Yes, yes…it’s Friday, and… It’s Reformation and will be All Saints… and did you know that every Sunday is a little Easter too? So, Rejoice… and I will see you there!
This coming Sunday – ALL SAINTS – November 2nd 2025
Readings:
Old Testament – Isaiah 26:1-21
Epistle – Revelations 21:9-27
Gospel – Matthew 5:1-12
Psalm – 63
IF ONLY – Based on the Gospel reading
Prayers: For our government and its leaders, that they will find a reasonable resolution enough so that the people who are depending upon them for employment and help would not be left without those things needed. That a lasting peace would remain between the people of Israel and Gaza as well as for the People of Russia and the Ukraine. 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.
Reflection from Luther:
“Although I feel my sin and cannot have as confident and cheerful a heart as I should like, still I must permit the Word to have sway and say accordingly: “I am lord over sin, and I don’t want to know of any sin.” “Indeed,” you will say, “let your own conscience say that; it feels and experiences something far different.” That is surely true; if things followed the rule of feeling, I would surely be lost. But the Word must be valid over and beyond all of the world’s feeling and mine. It must remain true no matter how insignificant it may appear and how feebly it may be believed by me; for we all see and experience the fact that sin condemns us straightway and consigns us to hell, that death consumes us and all the world, and that no one can escape it. And you venture to speak to me of life and of righteousness, of which I cannot behold as much as a small spark! To be sure, that must be but a feeble life. Yes, indeed, but a feeble life by reason of our faith. But no matter how feeble it is, as long as the Word and a small spark of faith remain in the heart, it shall develop into a fire of life which fills heaven and earth and quenches both death and every other misfortune like a little drop of water. And the feeble faith shall tear these asunder so that neither death nor sin will be seen or felt any longer. However, to adhere to faith in the face of seeing and feeling calls for an arduous battle.