And the Glory of the Lord Filled the Tabernacle: Exodus 40:1-38

Exodus 40:1-38: "1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 'On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. 4 You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. 5 You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony, and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. 9 And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.' 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did. 17 And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. 18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and he lit the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 33 And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."

Today we wrap up our reading from the Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus. Starting Monday, we will begin to read the Book of Moses, commonly called Numbers. We will read through that book for the next two and a half weeks, and then read from the Book of Moses, commonly called Deuteronomy until Passiontide begins. The Book of Moses, commonly called Leviticus, is not read in this Lectionary, not even in part, which follows the ancient practice. But today, we wrap up the Book of Moses, commonly called Exodus, and in it we are shown the final preparations of the Tabernacle of Meeting, and our Lord God, taking up His dwelling place within the Tabernacle.

The first thing to point out about this pericope is the time. The Lord God tells Moses to set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the the first month. You may remember that this was the day when the Israelites left Egypt. This means it was the one year anniversary of their leaving Egypt. Therefore, if we view this reading chronologically. One year ago, the Angel of the Lord, came down, and through His presence killed all the firsborn sons of Egypt. Now, our Lord shows His presence among His people once more, this time dwelling among them in peace.

The second thing to be noted is the care with which the Tabernacle and all the instruments and furniture of the Tabernacle were prepared, and set in their proper places. Only Moses is allowed to do this (although, we can be sure that he probably enlisted help for some of the heavier objects, such as the Altar made out of gold). Moses is the one to do this, for he is the prophet of God. He has been appointed by God to do this task. It is also part of his calling to consecrate Aaron, the high priest, and all the sons of Aaron.

The next thing is that our Lord God, takes His dwelling among the people. Whenever the cloud was over the Tabernacle of Meeting, the Israelites remained where they were at, and whenever it was removed, then they would march on. But here we see the great benefit that the Israelites are granted. For, for forty years, while they sojourned in the wilderness, they had the benefit of seeing the presence of the Lord before them. Even though they were in the wilderness, and life was hard, they got to see the Lord dwelling among them.

We too have this benefit, as we dwell in the wilderness of this life fill with sorrow and woe, and trial and tribulation, for our Lord comes to us, and dwells with us, through the Blessed Sacrament. There on the Altar, our Lord dwells in His Body and Blood. We receive Him on our lips, and are granted forgiveness, life, and salvation. This holy meal, is our visible proof that our Lord is here among us until the Last Day, when He appears to us, and the whole world, as He appeared to His disciples on the day of His ascension.

Therefore, we can rejoice at the presence of our Lord Jesus, who gives us constant proof that He cares for us, and provides for us, just like the Israelites had opportunity to joy in the presence of the Lord God in the Tabernacle of Meeting for those forty years.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

For What Profit Is It To a Man If He Gains the Whole World, and Is Himself Destroyed or Lost?: St. Luke 9:1-27

St. Luke 9:1-27: "1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, 'Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.' 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. 7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9 Herod said, 'John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?' So he sought to see Him. 10 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, 'Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.' 13 But He said to them, 'You give them something to eat.' And they said, 'We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.' 14 For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, 'Make them sit down in groups of fifty.' 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them. 18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, 'Who do the crowds say that I am?' 19 So they answered and said, 'John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.' 20 He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.' 21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.' 23 Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.'"

This pericope ends the way it began. We are shown the importance of having the Word of God over earthly things. The disciples, when they are sent out by our Lord Jesus with power and authority over demons, and to heal sicknesses, are instructed to take nothing with them. In this the Early Fathers are in agreement in their teaching, that our Lord does this to teach the disciples that they are to live by the Gospel, and not by the things of this world. They go out into the world with no staff, in other words, nothing with which to protect them and aid them in their journey. They go out with no bag, meaning they don't have a suitcase of extra clothes, or whatever other things would have been carried in a bag. They carry with them no bread, meaning they have no food, they are to beggars, and receive only what they given through charity. They also are to bring no money, so that they will not be able to buy any of the things they think they might need. They are also supposed to go without an extra tunic, that is, not an extra pair of underwear.

The Lord sends them out as beggars, with nothing but the Word of God. St. Ambrose says of this text, "Of what kind then he ought to be who preaches the Gospel of the kingdom of God is marked out by these Gospel precepts ; that is, he must not require the supports of secular aid; and clinging wholly to faith, he must believe that the less he requires those things, the more they will be supplied to him." Herein we see the purpose of our Lord sending out His disciples as beggars with just the Word of God. They are to live by faith. When they are forced to live without the means of this world, they will cling all the more to our Lord. The same thing is true of us, when we are stripped of all the props of life, we can more freely believe and cling to our Lord's gifts.

One might wonder what the end result of this sending out into the countryside by our Lord Jesus without earthly entanglements. Well, we are told by another Gospel writer, that they returned with joy, proclaiming all the wonderful things they did through the Gospel. Therefore we can learn something from the disciples. What is most important is the Gospel. What that means is that the Word of God preached in its purity and the Sacraments administered according to Christ's institution, are more important than any earthly possession one has. But, not only should the ministers of the Word rely on God, and not on earthly possessions, but so too should all Christians. This is why this pericope ends the way it started.

But before our Lord explains all these things that have happened in this reading, we get a physical example of our Lord's abundance toward us, and how faith in our Lord, will supply our needs. For sandwiched in between the disciples being sent out without any of earth's props, and our Lord telling us that those who seek after the things of this world are in danger of losing their soul, we have the feeding of the 5,000. Here our Lord shows what faith produces, that is, our Lord bestowing upon the 5,000 men, plus women and children, enough food so that everyone ate to their fill. Our Lord provides their needs. And notice that we talk about needs, for there are many wants which we have, which our Lord never provides for us, for He knows that they will be harmful to us, and will put up a barrier to our faith. But here in the wilderness, our Lord teaches us about faith, and about how He will provide for our needs.

From here, after St. Peter declares, on behalf of the disciples, that He is the Messiah, He goes on to explain to His disciples the purpose of His coming, and that is to suffer and die to bring forgiveness, life and salvation. Here we are told to take up our cross and follow Him. Our cross is His cross, the cross where He suffered and died. What our Lord is telling us, is that those who wish to live by faith, must live by faith in the cross. We are too often so consumed with our earthly needs, that we forget about our spiritual needs. We neglect studying of the Word of God, we neglect prayer, that is, our private worship of our Lord. But worse than that, we may even neglect the public worship of our Lord. Not taking advantage of the means provided by the Church so that we may receive into our ears the preaching of what our Lord Jesus did for us.

Here in there are a lot of Church's at fault as well, wittling down the public services of worship to once a week, and then even placing a time frame on them of one hour, so that everyone can get out as soon as possible. The Church throughout the ages as always had daily public worship, that is, until most recently. In the Lutheran Church Matins and Vespers were prayed each day, along with instruction in both the Word of God and the Catechism following these services, respectively. On Sundays and Feast days, the Lord Supper was offered to all those who desired to receive who were in fellowship with the Lutheran Church. These were preceded, either directly before the service, or the preceding night before with a service of public confession, and then private confession following afterwards. All this was done so that everyone had ample opportunity to hear the Word of God, so that faith might be created and sustained in the believer.

However, today, this does not take place. The excuses are many. "No one will come." "We are too small to have more than one service." "That is too much Church." "It is too much work." "Are you trying to burn us out with Church services?" "We only have one pastor, and that is too much work for him." "The electric bill will go up, because of all these extra services." And the list could go on. All these concerns are centered in worldly pursuits and concerns. None of them have to do with the spiritual. In short, they are lies of the devil, who does not want us to be so surrounded by the Word of God.

The problem is that we have made the world our home, and the Church a hobby, or something to do in our free time. Instead, it should be the Church that is our home, and our life, and all the cares and concerns of this world should take a back burner, or better yet be done away with all together. It would surely reduce stress, if we were not so consumed by the acquisition of things. Now, certainly we have some earthly obligations. We have to feed our family, and pay for our rent or mortgage, and our bills. But we could attack even these things, for we don't need the fanciest food, or living quarters, or automobile. We don't need all of the bills which we have, which we think we need, but could really be done away with. For we only have these things because the world says that we need them. In reality they are only things that get in our way of our spiritual life, for the pursuit and maintenance of these things, only takes away our time for study of God's Word and prayer.

Therefore, our Lord Jesus puts the question to us, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" On this fourth day of Lent, we have an opportunity, in the spirit of the Lenten fast, to put off from ourselves, all the earthly entrapments that weigh us down, add to our stress, and take us away from daily hearing what our Lord has done for us. Let us examine our lives, and get rid of all those things that hinder us from hearing God's Word; All those things which are nothing more than worldly pursuits.

For then we will be like the disciples who were sent out into the world as beggars, who learned to live by faith, and who learned to trust in our Lord Jesus. They returned to Him in joy, and the same thing will happen to us, for having learned to live by faith, we learn to be content with whatever our Lord has given us, and in whatever situation our Lord has placed us. In this faith, we will eat to our full, like the 5,000, and be satisfied, in all our Lord provides.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas