Collect
of the Week (Proper 14-C)
Almighty
and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people who offer
acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith, and not by sight, in the
way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who
lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Matthew
26:36-46 (Today’s Bible Story for the Family)
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and
pray." 37 And taking
with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and
troubled. 38 Then he said to
them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch1
with me." 39 And
going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but
as you will." 40 And he
came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So,
could you not watch with me one hour? 41
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak." 42
Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this
cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." 43 And again he came and found
them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the
third time, saying the same words again.
45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them,
"Sleep and take your rest later on.1 See, the hour is at hand,
and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my
betrayer is at hand."
Catechism: The First & Second Commandments
What is the
First Commandment?
You
shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
What is the
Second Commandment?
You
shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
What does this mean?
We
should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie,
or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and
give thanks.
Devotion
In the name of T Jesus.
Prayer has been called the voice of faith. In the Large Catechism, when commenting on the
Second Commandment, Luther expresses a similar notion. He writes, “The first things that spring from
the heart and show themselves are words” (364:50). So the words you speak reflect the faith in
your heart.
If you have no other gods, and you fear, love, and trust
in the one true God above all else, then it follows that you will call upon His
name in every trouble. When great
tribulation comes your way, and you are overwhelmed, faith knows from whom your
help will come, and so your pray. When
fear rises up in your heart, faith is certain of God’s promises, and pleads for
the LORD to remind you of them. When
tragedy strikes, faith believes the Father is still who He says He is, and so
you call upon His name, your pray, praise, and give thanks.
As the Father’s Son, Jesus teaches us how to keep these
commandments. Jesus never wavers from a
trust in His Father’s will, and so, when He was in great anguish in the garden
of gethsemane, He did what faith does—He prayed. And not only once; Jesus prayed
continually. Three times he called upon
the name of His Father, and three times He trusted in the Father’s will: “nevertheless,
not as I will, but as you will.”
Baptized into Christ, made members of the flock of faith,
and knowing that we are children of the heavenly Father not only assures us of
being heirs of the kingdom, but it gives us confidence to call upon the name of
our Father in any and every trouble.
With faith that is certain that He is our true Father; that we are His
true children; that Jesus is our brother; we have a name to call upon, and we
are invited to call upon it with all boldness and confidence. And in so doing, your prayers will be the
voice of your certain, and confident faith.
In the name of T Jesus. Amen.
Prayer
Hear us, Father, when we pray,
Through Your
Son and in Your Spirit.
By Your Spirit’s Word convey
All that we through
Christ inherit,
That as baptized heirs we may
Truly pray
(LSB, #773).
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