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
O God, from
whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us,
Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be
set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of
our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son,
our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever. Amen.[1]
Catechism Reflections
- The Fifth Commandment
You
shall not murder.
What
does this mean? We
should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his
body, but help and support him in every physical need.
Jesus
illustrated God’s desire for us to help our neighbor in every physical need through
the beloved parable we call “The Good Samaritan.” The account is found in Luke
10 and it goes like this.
25 And
behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher,
what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He
said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And
he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said
to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
29 But
he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my
neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped
him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now
by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed
by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite,
when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But
a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him,
he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound
up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal
and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And
the next day he took out two denarii[a] and
gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you
spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which
of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among
the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him
mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Jesus ends the parable with the command, “You go, and do
likewise,” but I also want you to notice why Jesus tells the parable. It says
that the lawyer wanted to justify himself. You cannot justify yourself before
God. There is always a sense that there is more that you could do to help and
support our neighbors in their physical need. We should strive to do so, but
when we fall short, when we fail, we trust that Jesus has justified us – then in
that hope we face our life and try to “Go and do likewise” for the people God
brings to our lives.
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] Lutheran
Service Book, Concordia Publishing House, p. 233 – This prayer is known as
the Collect for Peace.
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