Collect of the Week
Almighty God, You have built Your Church on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Continue to send Your messengers to preserve Your people in true peace that, by
the preaching of Your Word, Your Church may be kept free from all harm and
danger; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Isaiah 66:10-14 (Last Sunday’s
Old Testament Reading)
10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all
you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 11 that you may nurse and be
satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance."1
12 For
thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and
the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you
shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees. 13 As one whom his mother
comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 You shall see, and your heart
shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the
LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against
his enemies.
Devotion
In the name of + Jesus.
If an infant child doesn’t nurse that infant child will not
survive. Of course, there is now
synthetic formula to give nourishment to infants whose mothers are unable to
nurse them, and we are thankful for that.
But nevertheless, an infant child that doesn’t receive the nourishment
that it needs, will not survive. It will
starve, and it will die.
Most of us don’t often think of ourselves as needy little
infants. We’re taught to be
self-sufficient, to work hard and accomplish much. The pressure to produce is so strong that we
often times forget that, no matter how many year we live, and no matter how
accomplished we become professionally, and no matter how many children,
grandchildren, and even great grandchildren we have the pleasure of having, we
never stop being completely dependent on the nourishment that comes from the
LORD. We’re all like infant!
And like an infant, who knows the voice, the smell, and even
the taste of his or her mother, and who oftentimes will refuse to receive
nourishment from anyone else (trust me, Abi doesn’t like taking a bottle from
me!), we are not to look for any lasting nourishment to come from anyone other
than the Lord, who gives it through His Word.
Just as a child’s mother meets his or her needs, so our heavenly Father
meets our needs of provision and pardon.
He gives daily bread. And even
more, through the preaching of His Son, He sends the Holy Spirit to give and strengthen
saving faith so that we might grow up and live in Him.
In Isaiah, Jerusalem acted like a mother for God’s people,
for from her the people were nourished on the Words of promises of the
LORD. Today, some have referred to the
Church as our mother, in much the same way.
As those who depend completely on the Word and Promise of God in Christ
for our pardon and peace, it is the Church where we find this nourishment, and
feed on the Gospel given in Word and Sacrament.
It is in the Church where we are comforted, and there our heart rejoices
as we learn to know our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let us never become too old to be infants in need of the nourishment of
our Lord. In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, by Your
Son, Jesus Christ, You delivered us from destruction. In Holy Baptism, You
caused us to be born again. Carry us a bless us with the comfort and peace that
only You can give. Amen (TLSB, p.
1200).
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