Be Strong, Do Not Fear! : Isaiah 35:3-7

Isaiah 35:3-7: "3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes."

This Old Testament lesson for the Prophet Isaiah, which is appointed for Quinquagesima, ties in nicely with both the Epistle and the Gospel. For it talks about the acts of love, and about the blind being given their sight. It also talks about God coming to save us. This is fulfilled in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was born into our flesh, to fulfill the Law perfectly, and suffer our punishment for breaking the Law of God, by His suffering and death on the cross. We are even told about the gift that our Lord Jesus would give to us, in order to make disciples, that is, Holy Baptism, for out of the wilderness of sin and death, the waters of Holy Baptism have burst forth, and have filled the desert of this world with a living stream that produces life.

Strengthening weak hands and making firm feeble knees are acts of love, for they concern our neighbor. In this pericope, it is referring to the preached Word of God. For the hands and knees are shaking from trials and tribulations of this life. But through the preaching of the Word of God, faith in the One True God is created, and sustained, so that our weak hands, and feeble knees are strengthened through hearing about what our Lord God has done for us. It is through the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we have no fear, and are able to be strong in the midst of sin and death, and trouble and sorrow.

This pericope prepares us for Lent as well, which starts this Wednesday, for it reminds us that we live in a desert, a wilderness; the wilderness and desert of this world full of sin and hatred towards God and His Commandments. Life in the wilderness is hard. Not only do the elements burden us, but the "jackals" of the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh are always prowling around looking to devour us.

But we have the good news, which our Lord God promised, that He would take vengeance upon them. He takes His vengeance upon them in His very own Son. He sacrifices His Son, so that we might be rescued from the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. He gives of Himself, so that we might be His through the water of Holy Baptism.

Holy Baptism, has created a pool in the parched land of this world. A place where we might find strength and comfort.Through it the eyes of spiritual blindness are opened, the ears that have been closed to the Word of God, are opened to hear the Gospel, those who are spiritually lame, unable to walk according to love, are healed so that they may walk in the commandments of God. And those who did not know how to confess their faith, or who were not able even to confess God, have their tongues healed, so that they might pray the liturgy, and sing hymns and psalms to God. Therefore, "Be strong; Do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you."

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Love Never Fails: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13:1-13: "1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

That the Feast of St. Valentine falls on Quinquagesima, which is today, is a result of a movable feast day (Quinquagesima) coinciding with an immovable feast (St. Valentine). Therefore, the Epistle reading for Quinquagesima, which is taken from St. Paul's first Epistle to the Church at Corinth, the thirteenth chapter, beginning at the first verse, seems to be specifically chosen for the Feast of St. Valentine. After all, the Epistle speaks about love, and to the world, that is what the Feast of St. Valentine is all about, love. But this is not the case, this Epistle is appointed for this day, because it fits in nicely with the Gospel reading from St. Luke 18. The Gospel for today starts out with our Lord proclaiming, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem!" His death and burial wait for Him in Jerusalem, and so, it is His love for us that prompts Him to go to Jerusalem.

This is the love that the Blessed St. Paul is referring to in his First Epistle to the Church at Corinth. It is our Savior's love, which does not fail. It is on account of this love of our Savior that St. Paul sings this song about love. Love is all about doing for others, and not for oneself. Love is about sacrifice. That means that love is an action. Love is not a feeling. As if love was some abstract thing that nobody is able to put a handle on. No, love requires action, whether that action be in thought, word, or deed. And that action means putting one's needs below the needs of others around them.

This is of course, why this text comes on the last day of our preparation for Lent, for to be truly prepared for Lent, one must have a true spirit of Christian love. This is why the season of Lent has often been associated with fasting. One fasts, that is, limits what one eats and spends, so that he may give what he would normally use to those who need it. This is why on Ash Wednesday in the Gospel we will hear about fasting, and alms-giving, and prayer. These three things, which we practice throughout Lent, show our love for our fellowman. For we limit the food we eat, so that we might provide a meal for those who would otherwise not have it. We use the money that we saved from the groceries we would buy, to give to those who are in need, and this would include the Mission congregations of the Church, who need our gifts to further the mission of Christ on Earth of calling sinners to repentance. And third, we pray for all those who have need, especially for those outside the Church, that our Lord God would lead them into His flock.

We certainly, are to do these things, all the time, that is, care for our neighbor, and pray for him. But during the season of Lent, we are provided with constant reminders of our duty to the Second Table of the Law. Therefore, the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, gives us a reminder of what love entails, so that we may be prepared to humble ourselves, and care for other people above ourselves, so that the Word of God, may take root in the soil of men's hearts, and produce the enlightenment that the Word of God produces. Just like it did for the blind man in today's Gospel reading.

Here we are given a different sense of what Lent is all about, for we are often tempted to think that Lent is supposed to be a dreary season, where we are not allowed to have any fun. Well, if showing love to one's neighbor, if sacrificing one's desires, for someone else's needs, if giving to the poor, and praying for those in need is a dreary concept to us, then we need to further examine our own hearts. For a heart that is full of love, gives without prodding, and sacrifices itself without having to be told. It is the heart of Christ, which suffered and died for those who hated Him. And all those who have been baptized, have received the heart of Christ, they have been given a heart a love, a heart that looks to the needs of others, before it looks to one's own needs.

This is what love is to the Church. It is a heart that takes action, and shows the love of Christ which dwells within it. This is much different than the love of the world, which is often self-seeking. The love of the world, is most often about amorous feelings, and often unrequited. We hear these stories all the time, about someone pining for someone, and the other person not being interested, so that the person who has amorous feelings for the other person must resort to some sort of scheme to woo them into loving them.

Our Lord Jesus Christ loves us and the world. His love for the world is unrequited, and in many cases, is met with hatred. But our Lord Jesus does not resort to schemes, He doesn't use smooth words, or gifts to lure us into loving Him. He instead loves us regardless of whether or not we love Him. This is what is called "unconditional love." It is love that doesn't need loving back for it to be validated. This is the kind of love our Lord Jesus showed for us and the world on the cross. He suffered and died for us, while we were still enemies. Is this not what our Lord Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, that we should love our enemies. We should not be consumed with revenge, or getting back at the people who don't love us back, but we should still pray that they would cease their enmity between us, and walk with us in meekness and in peace. For it is God's place to punish His enemies, and those who are our enemies because of our love for Him. It is our place to pray for them, that they might no longer be enemies of God and us.

Love produces joy in the person who practices it, and receives it. Therefore, we have joy in our Lord Jesus for showing His love for us, by His suffering and death on the cross. The same is true of acts of love, such as fasting, alms-giving, and prayer, when these things are done out of love for our fellowman. These acts bring the people who benefit from it joy. And it is their joy that brings us joy, and creates in us a desire to do these things even more.

Therefore, the Feast of St. Valentine provides us, along with the entire Lenten season, an opportunity to show the true love of Christ, which dwells within us. This love is not just reserved for those who return it, nor is it especially about how many gifts, and what kind of gifts one is going to be receiving. Nor is this love reserved for those who are amorously infatuated with one another. True love, that is true Christian love, can be seen in the real person of St. Valentine, who was a priest in Rome, who was martyred on the Flaminian Way by Claudius Caesar in the year 269 A.D. on February 14th. St. Valentine cared for the sick and gave healing to many. He also provided counsel to those who were suffering in this life, preaching the Word of God boldly to lost souls in the midst of great persecution from the Roman government. His love for his fellow man transcended all earthly threats and punishments, and he willing gave his life for the Gospel, being beaten and beheaded for preaching the Gospel. He sacrificed himself, so that others might believe on our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is quite the different story from some dude in a toga shooting bows and arrows at people so that they might have amorous feelings toward one another, that we normally see attached to this feast day. But this is the type of love, the love of self-sacrifice, that our Lord Jesus wants us to learn about, for it is the same love that was in Him, and on account of our Holy Baptism, and our hearing of the Gospel, and our participation in the Lord's Supper and the other means of grace, that this love dwells within us richly. Let His love fill you, so that you might share that love with those around you.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas