Collect
of the Week (Proper 15-C)
Merciful
Lord, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with
Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of His
redeeming work and daily follow in His way; through the same Jesus Christ, Your
Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
Luke
2:41-52 (From the Bible Story Lectionary)
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
Feast of the Passover. 42 And
when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended,
as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents
did not know it, 44 but
supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began
to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him,
they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting
among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were
amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents1 saw
him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, "Son, why have you
treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great
distress." 49 And he
said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must
be in my Father's house?"1
50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to
them. 51 And he went down
with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother
treasured up all these things in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature1 and
in favor with God and man.
Catechism: The Third Commandment
What is 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.
Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.
After leaving Jerusalem, May and Joseph went a day’s journey
before noticing that Jesus wasn’t with them.
They began their search with relatives and acquaintances, and finally
returned to Jerusalem to continue the search.
Three days later, there he was, sitting in the temple, holding His
Father’s Word sacred and gladly hearing and learning it. There he was, sitting among the teachers, listening
to them and asking them questions.
At first, Mary and Joseph were upset: “Son, why have you
treated us so?” But like a set of keys
that is simply laying where its owners last placed it, Jesus’ response is one
which, in hind sight, seems most obvious indeed. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s
house?”
The Son of God teaches us how to keep the Third
Commandment. Our flesh often tires of
hearing God’s Word. Watch a movie, read
a good book, head out to a concert, or watch another game on television: any—or
all—of those activities would surpass our desire to read, mark, learn, and inwardly
digest the Word of God.
In repentance, we hear again the Third Commandment, and
learn to place God’s Word where it belongs—that’s how we hold it sacred. In humility, we see Jesus’ keeping of the
Third Commandment, and we begin to see the wisdom of being in our Father’s
house.
You see, the rest intended for you is a rest that comes
through the Word. NO matter how hard you
work, when you sanctify the day by filling it with God’s Word, you are able to
rest in peace. You’ll have the promises
of God in Christ sustaining you. You’ll
have the comfort of the forgiveness of sins girding you up. You’ll have the witnesses of those who have
gone before us to encourage you to walk in faith. And like Mary and Joseph, you’ll begin to
expect to find Jesus where he’s been all along: in His Father’s Word. In the name of T Jesus.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, open my eyes to your life-giving presence. Through
You Word, Sacraments, and Spirit, bless my life, so that things that seem
mundane become a foretaste of blessedness in Your eternal presence. Amen (TLSB, p. 1712).
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