Good Evening, Lord!
Words of Comfort
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3 ESV)
Prayer of Confession
Our heavenly Father, we humbly
confess our sins in that we have left undone the things which we should have
done, and have done the things we should not have done. Forgive us our sad
betrayals, our broken loyalties, our faint attachment to your cause. Make us
your true disciples, enabling us to keep the faith, not to falter or run away.
And bring us all at last to the reward in heaven of those who finish bravely
their high calling in him who loved us and gave himself for us, even Jesus
Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.[1]
Catechism Reflections - The Third Commandment
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we
do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and
learn it.
In the beginning Adam and Eve seem to have been used to being able to
walk and converse with God in the cool of the day. Their sin caused a division
between humanity and our Creator so that now our engagement with God has been
through his Word. At first he spoke to individuals, then through prophets and
priests, and finally through Jesus. As the liturgical verse based on Hebrews
1:1-2 says, “In many and various ways God spoke to his people of old by the
prophets, but now in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” Jesus has
become the contact point – both God and human to connect us to our heavenly
Father. He is the mediator between us and God because, as Michael Card says, he
is able to “lay a hand on us both.”
The Sabbath is about Jesus. Our worship focuses on him and receives him
in the Word and Sacraments. Of course, we are blessed to be able to have access
to Jesus apart from the public worship service, and such times of prayer and
Scripture are important to our faith and life. These moments are like
mini-Sabbaths throughout the week. Times to rest in Christ, being refreshed by
his Word and Spirit.
Some would have us believe that the main point of Christianity is
something we do – living morally, serving the Lord, or behaving in a “Christian
manner,” which usually means being nice. Certainly our behavior matters, but
Jesus’ words matter more. Listening to his Word is to listen to Jesus, it is to
be with him. (And this is why we must not be merely hearers of the Words, but
doers of the Word, because in the Word we actually meet Jesus and receive his
love and forgiveness! How could we walk away from such an encounter unchanged?)
There is a beautiful example of the importance of listening to Jesus in
Luke 10:38-42.
Now as they went on their way,
Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him
into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the
Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with
much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my
sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord
answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about
many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the
good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”[2]
Jesus is the good portion. He
has come for you to share the message of God’s love and salvation through faith
in him. Listen to him, and that good portion will not be taken away from you.
Questions for Meditation
What does this reading teach
you?
What does this reading lead you
to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or
attitude does this reading challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to
have a richer impact on your life through this reading?
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily
bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Verse of Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. (2 Cor. 13:14 ESV)
[1] Harms, John Henry, in
Doberstein, A Lutheran Prayer Book, Fortress, 1960, p. 23
[2] English
Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.
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