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

Moses Did Not Know That the Skin of His Face Shone While He Talked to Him: Exodus 34:27-35

Exodus 34:27-35: "27 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.' 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. 29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him."

Because Moses was in communion with God, and spoke with Him for forty days and nights, his face shone, reflecting back onto his face the glory of the Lord. When the people of Israel, saw this glory reflected upon Moses face, they were afraid.

Now consider this: This was only the reflection of God's glory. But in their sinful state, the people of Israel, seeing only a glimmer and a glimpse of the glory of God, drew back in fear. Even Aaron, Moses own brother, cowered at the veil presence of God that was reflected onto Moses face.

St. Paul talks about this glory of God on Moses' face in his Epistle to the Church at Corinth. But there he remarks about how it faded, when he was no longer in the presence of God. Nowhere in the Old Testament is this revealed, but the Blessed Apostle, speaking through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, fills in the blanks for us, showing us that the glory of Moses' face, was only a precursor, a glimmer of the true glory that comes from the Gospel.

Hear what Keil and Delitzsch have to say on this subject:

"This reflection of the splendour thrown back by the glory of God was henceforth to serve as the most striking proof of the confidential relation in which Moses stood to Jehovah, and to set forth the glory of the office which Moses filled. The Apostle Paul embraces this view in 2 Co 3:7., and lays stress upon the fact that the glory was to be done away, which he was quite justified in doing, although nothing is said in the Old Testament about the glory being transient, from the simple fact that Moses died. The apostle refers to it for the purpose of contrasting the perishable glory of the law with the far higher and imperishable glory of the Gospel. At the same time he regards the veil which covered Moses' face as a symbol of the obscuring of the truth revealed in the Old Testament. But this does not exhaust the significance of this splendour. The office could only confer such glory upon the possessor by virtue of the glory of the blessings which it contained, and conveyed to those for whom it was established. Consequently, the brilliant light on Moses' face also set forth the glory of the Old Covenant, and was intended both for Moses and the people as a foresight and pledge of the glory to which Jehovah had called, and would eventually exalt, the people of His possession."

Thus far Keil and Delitzsch.

This narrative again brings us to the Mount of Transfiguration, where our Lord Jesus was transfigured before the Apostles, St. Peter, St. James the Elder, and St. John, and standing there in His transfigured glory with Him were Elijah and Moses.

This glory of God which Moses reflects, is a picture and image of the glory of our Lord Jesus. For when He reveals on the Mount of Transfiguration His full glory, we can see the picture of the Israelites in the Apostles who fell to their faces in fear.

Of course, all those who sin, when they come into the perfection of our Lord's revealed glory, shudder in fear, for they realize that they are unworthy to behold such an image. This is shown throughout the Holy Scriptures, from Adam, to Isaiah, to Moses at the burning bush, to Aaron and the people of Israel. And the list could go on.

But this is the very reason that our Lord Jesus is born into our flesh, so that he might remove that barrier of sin, which prevents us from beholding the true glory of God. And He accomplished this on the tree of the cross.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

For Nothing Is Secret That Will Not Be Revealed: St. Luke 8:16-56

St. Luke 8:16-56: "'1 No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.' 19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, 'Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.' 21 But He answered and said to them, 'My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.' 22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, 'Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.' And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing!' Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, 'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, 'Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!' 26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!' 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. 30 Jesus asked him, saying, 'What is your name?' And he said, 'Legion,' because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. 32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. 34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned. 38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 'Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.' And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, 'Who touched Me?' When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, 'Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, "Who touched Me?"' 46 But Jesus said, 'Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.' 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, 'Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.' 49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, 'Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.' 50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, 'Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.' 51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, 'Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.' 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, 'Little girl, arise.' 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened."

Nothing is secret that will not be revealed. These words of our Lord speak of Himself, for we see in the following verses our Lord revealing to several people, and in several instances Who He is. There is the calming of the wind and waves, where He reveals His authority over creation. Being the creator, He has authority to order the creation as He sees fit.

He reveals Himself to the people of the Gadarenes, by casting out of a man, the demons Legion, revealing that He has authority over Satan and his angels, along with all the powers of darkness. This man who was healed of the demons, then went on to proclaim what our Lord Jesus did for him, revealing to the cities and surrounding country, our Lord Jesus.

He reveals Himself to the woman with the flow of blood for twelve years, and along with her the crowds that were following Him. Also in this crowd is the synagogue ruler Jairus. All these get to see not only the woman's great faith, but they are shown that our Lord Jesus has the power to heal, that is, He has authority over all that plague us physically.

Therefore, we can see in these three events that our Lord, Who is creator of all, and has authority over all creation, both can heal us spiritually and physically. But our Lord is not done, and the Evangelist St. Luke continues on to the home of Jairus, where we meet a dead girl, who from the Evangelist St. Mark, we learn that she was only twelve years old.

Our Lord tells the people outside mourning to not weep for she is only sleeping. And for this He is mocked, because in their minds, there is no coming back from the dead, and by extension, there is no resurrection. But our Lord reveals Himself one more time in this pericope, as the Lord of Life, for just by speaking the Word, the little girl is raised from the dead.

Therefore, we learn from this reading, that our Lord who can heal us spiritually and physically, can also, after we have died, raise us from the dead. Therefore, like the little girl, who was not dead, but only sleeping, all those who die in our Lord Christ Jesus, are also not dead, they are alive in Heaven, and to us they only appear to be sleeping, for they are asleep in our Lord. We too, someday, will join these saints, those who have gone before us in the grave, and we will be in Heaven with our Lord, too. And on the Last Day, all our bodies which have been hidden in the ground, will be revealed and raised again into new glorious bodies.

May the Lord keep you in the one true faith unto life everlasting, so that you may enter safe into the Holy of Holies, to live with our Lord forever.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Behold, I Make A Covenant: Exodus 34:1-10

Exodus 34:1-10: "1 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.' 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.' 8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, 'If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.' 10 And He said: 'Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.'"

Our Lord God tells Moses to hewn out of stone two tablets, and bring them to Him, so that He might once again write the Law on them with His own finger. There is a difference in this second set of stone tablets, in that Moses is the one providing the materials. In the first set, the ones that Moses broke in his anger, the Lord provided both the materials and the writing on them. Why the difference? We are not told. Perhaps it was because Moses was the one who broke them, therefore he must replace them. Perhaps our Lord God now required some action on behalf of the Israelites, who would perform it through Moses, whereas in the first case, He was willing to give the Law freely to the Israelites without any action on their part, other than to stay away from the mountain. What the reason is we do not know, but we do notice this difference.

Another intriguing thing about this pericope, is the manifestation of God's glory to Moses that is shown to us in verse 5. This is the fulfillment of God, which He made to Moses in chapter 33, when He told Moses that He would put him in the cleft of the rock, and pass by showing him His back, but not His face. We are only revealed two things about this, first, that Moses fell to his face and worshipped God. The second, is that we are not told what Moses saw, only that as He passed by, the Lord spoke, as Martin Luther called it, the great "sermon on the Name of the Lord."

"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." This is very similar to the introduction to the Commandments, which in Martin Luther's Small Catechism, is placed as the Close of the Commandments, wherein our Lord God, declared that He would both punish sin, and would forgive sin. Hear what Keil and Delitzsch have to say regarding this passage regarding the Lord's Name:

"It proclaimed that God is love, but that kind of love in which mercy, grace, long-suffering, goodness, and truth are united with holiness and justice. As the merciful One, who is great in goodness and truth, Jehovah shows mercy to the thousandth, forgiving sin and iniquity in long-suffering and grace; but He does not leave sin altogether unpunished, and in His justice visits the sin of the fathers upon the children and the children's children even unto the fourth generation. The Lord had already revealed Himself to the whole nation from Mount Sinai as visiting sin and showing mercy (Exo 20:5.). But whereas on that occasion the burning zeal of Jehovah which visits sin stood in the foreground, and mercy only followed afterwards, here grace, mercy, and goodness are placed in the front. And accordingly all the words which the language contained to express the idea of grace in its varied manifestations to the sinner, are crowded together here, to reveal the fact that in His inmost being God is love. But in order that grace may not be perverted by sinners into a ground of wantonness, justice is not wanting even here with its solemn threatenings, although it only follows mercy, to show that mercy is mightier than wrath, and that holy love does not punish till sinners despise the riches of the goodness, patience, and long-suffering of God. As Jehovah here proclaimed His name, so did He continue to bear witness of it to the Israelites, from their departure from Sinai till their entrance into Canaan, and from that time forward till their dispersion among the heathen, and even now in their exile showing mercy to the thousandth, when they turn to the Redeemer who has come out of Zion."

Thus far Keil and Delitzsch.

The whole purpose of this scene we have to remember, is because Moses what some proof from God that He indeed desired the Israelites to be His people. Now having seen the glory of God, Moses once again intercedes on behalf of the Israelites. Or to say it another way, now that the proof has been given, and that Moses has been shown that God desires to have the people of Israel as His people, he immediately reminds the Lord of His promise to lead them into the promised land of Canaan Himself, and not through and His Angel.

Therefore, Moses confesses his sin, and the sin of the Israelites, proclaiming himself and the Israelites to be "stiff-necked people." What Moses is doing here is pleading on behalf of our Lord God's grace and mercy, which He just proclaimed Himself to be, in proclaiming His Name to Moses. On account of Moses' intercession, the Lord proclaims that He will make a covenant with the people of Israel, that only they will see the signs and wonders that He will do for them, and the rest of the nations will not get to see these.

Hence, from the people of Israel, our Lord God would reveal Himself in the flesh. This would be His greatest sign and wonder that He would do, that He would take on our flesh, and suffer and die for not just the Jews, but for all nations.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

To What Then Shall I Liken the Men of This Generation: St. Luke 7:18-8:3

St. Luke 7:18-8:3: "7:18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' 20 When the men had come to Him, they said, 'John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"' 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. 22 Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.' 24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings' courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." 28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.' 29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. 31 And the Lord said, 'To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not weep." 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, "He has a demon." 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.' 36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, 'This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.' 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' So he said, 'Teacher, say it.' 41 'There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?' 43 Simon answered and said, 'I suppose the one whom he forgave more.' And He said to him, 'You have rightly judged.' 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.' 48 Then He said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.' 49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?' 50 Then He said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.'

"8:1 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities--Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance."

In another Gospel, we are shown that St. John the Baptist, sends out his disciples to inquire of our Lord Jesus from prison. That Gospel narrative comes the third week in Advent, on Gaudete. Here we see that text shown in a different light. There is often the debate about whether St. John the Baptist is sending his disciples for his own benefit or his disciples'. From this Gospel we can see that it is for the disciples benefit, for we are told that they reported all that our Lord Jesus did, and in another Gospel we are told that they even reported to St. John the Baptist that our Lord was baptizing, and doing the same things that he was. It it evident therefore that this report is made out of envy, therefore, since St. John the Baptist is the forerunner of our Lord, and his task is to preach the coming Christ, he sends his disciples so that they might see for themselves who the true Messiah is.

We are shown by the Evangelist St. Luke, that the disciples of St. John the Baptist, after asking the question of our Lord, saw the wonders that He did. Therefore they had visible proof of what the Scriptures had foretold. For the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and demons were cast out. Just like the Prophet Isaiah tells us in the 35h chapter of his book, the 4-6 verses. The Psalmist also says something similar in the 146th Psalm, the 7-10 verses. Therefore, these disciples of St. John the Baptist, have both the testimony of holy Scripture, and the eyewitness of the deeds done by our Lord Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus, then goes on to speak to the crowds, to further give evidence that it is not St. John the Baptist's faith that is shaken, but his disciples' for our Lord talks about "a reed shaken by the wind." The people did not go out to hear the preaching of St. John the Baptist, nor receive his baptism, because he was wishy-washy. They went out because he spoke boldly about the Christ to come. St. Cyril states this in Book 11 chapter for of his commentary on Luke. Hear what St. Cyril has to say below:

"The Lord, knowing the secrets of men, foresaw that some would say, 'If until now John is ignorant of Jesus, how did he shew Him to us, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world?" To quench therefore this feeling which had taken possession of them, He prevented the injury which might arise from the offence, as it follows, "And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, 'what went ye outfor to see? A reed shaken in the wind?'" As if He said, 'Ye marvelled at John the Baptist, and oftentimes came to see him, passing over long journeys in the desert; surely in vain, if you think him so fickle as to be like a reed bending down whichever way the wind moves it.' For such he appears to be, who lightly avows his ignorance of the things which he knows."

Therefore St. Cyril shows that our Lord does not consider St. John the Baptist ficke, or a reed shaken by the wind.

Then our Lord Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter. And that is the reason and purpose for why St. John the Baptist was sent by God; To proclaim the coming of the Messiah. "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." The Jews would have recognized this text as referring to Elijah. For Elijah was supposed to come and prepare the way for the Messiah's coming. That St. John the Baptist is referred to by our Lord as the embodiment of Elijah, He is referring to Himself as the Messiah. Because of St. John the Baptist's preaching, he is considered by our Lord to be the greatest of the Prophets. This is not because St. John the Baptist has any thing in himself that the other prophets did not have. It is because not only did he proclaim that the Messiah was to come, but he, unlike the other prophets, got to actually point out that our Lord Jesus was the promised Messiah. He did this when he declared in the Gospel of St. John, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"

Therefore, St. John the Baptist, having preached the coming of our Lord, and seeing the Messiah with his own eyes, and pointing Him out to the crowds come to him to be baptized, cannot have doubted that our Lord Jesus was the "Coming One." But for the benefit of those who would desire to follow him, instead of our Lord Jesus, he directs them to go to our Lord, so that they might see for themselves, Who He is. Therefore, St. John the Baptist, who is in prison, and about to be beheaded, fulfills his calling by directing our eyes, and the eyes of his disciples, to our Lord Jesus. "Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world."

This of course is our tie in with this pericope to the season of Lent. For St. John the Baptist, whose season is Advent, for he is the one who prepares us for our Lord's coming, is now leading the way into the purpose for our Lord's coming, that is, His death and burial. There our Lord will take away the sins of the whole world, and he will bring forgiveness to all those who seek it.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Here Is a Place By Me, And You Shall Stand on the Rock: Exodus 33:1-23

Exodus 33:1-23: "1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "To your descendants I will give it." 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.' 4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, 'Say to the children of Israel, "You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you."' 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. 7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. 12 Then Moses said to the LORD, 'See, You say to me, "Bring up this people." But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, "I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight." 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.' 14 And He said, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.' 15 Then he said to Him, 'If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.' 17 So the LORD said to Moses, 'I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.' 18 And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.' 19 Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.' 20 But He said, 'You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.' 21 And the LORD said, 'Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.'"

In this pericope we again see Moses being a prefigurement of our Lord Jesus Christ. For our Lord God chooses to reveal His glory to Moses, but Moses must be hid in the cleft of the rock. This is very similar to an episode that the Prophet Elijah had where he too was allowed to see the Lord's glory pass by while he was in the cleft of a rock. In this we have a connection between Moses and Elijah, and this glory that they only got to see from the cleft of the rock, and not even the Lord's full glory, for His face was hidden from them, we see fully revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration. There Moses and Elijah talk with our Lord Jesus, and they are not afraid, however, the Apostles, St. Peter, St. James the Elder, and St. John, are shaking in their sandles, with their faces to the ground, for they had been revealed the full glory of our Lord Jesus.

But Moses and Elijah are not afraid, for they had seen this glory before. This cleft in the rock also holds significance, because it points to the cleft of rock that our Lord Jesus was placed into after His crucifixion. He was placed in a brand new tomb, that had been cut out of rock. Therefore, Moses, and Elijah, being placed into this cleft in the rock is a picture of the tomb of our Lord Jesus. In this tomb, our Lord reveals His true glory, for in the tomb, our Lord Jesus, buries, once and for all, sin, death, and the power of the devil, so that they can no longer harm us.

Having done this, we, unlike Moses, and Elijah, can see the full glory of the Lord face to face. And we behold that glory, whenever we receive His Body and Blood in bread and wine. The bread that we eat, is the Body of Christ, and the wine which we drink, is the Blood of Christ, this is His glory, the giving out of the forgiveness, life and salvation, that He won for us on the tree of the cross.

Therefore, as we enter into Lent, let us stand upon this Rock, and hide ourselves in the cleft of this Rock, and behold our Lord's glory, which we will reveal to us in His holy crucifixion. May our eyes ever be shown our sin, that we may cast them at the foot of the cross.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

I Am Not Worthy That You Should Enter Under My Roof: St. Luke 7:1-10

St. Luke 7:1-10: "1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 'for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.' 6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, 'Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, "Go," and he goes; and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it.' 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, 'I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!' 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well who had been sick."

The season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, with the account of the centurion, whose servant is sick, and desires that our Lord Jesus would come and heal him. The theme to this whole text is humility, and that after all is a part of what Lent is about, humbling ourselves before God on account of our sin.

What is truly amazing about this centurion, however, is that he is a man of great authority, as he relates to our Lord Jesus, through his servants, that he is a man who says to his soldiers, "Go," and they go, and "Come," and they come, and he says to his servant, "Do this," and he does it. Now, at first glance this doesn't really seem like humility, it seems like the centurion is bragging about how much power and authority he has. But that is precisely the point, for even though the centurion has all this power and authority over people, he realizes that he is not worthy to have our Lord Jesus come under his roof.

Furthermore, the centurion believes that the Lord does not even have to show up for the servant to be healed; That our Lord Jesus could heal him just by speaking the word. This centurion was not a Jew, he was a Roman soldier, but he had already demonstrated his love for the people of Israel, by building them a synagogue. This centurion also reveals he understands who has the true authority and power, for he understands that the power and authority of our Lord, Who is the Creator and Preserver of all things, is far more greater than any power that he holds. In this we are shown the centurion's humility, and that he is placing himself under our Lord Jesus' authority.

For this faith, our Lord Jesus turns to the entire crowd, and proclaims to them that no faith like this has he seen in the people of God. This is truly a remarkable statement for He is basically saying that the people of God, who have His Word and teachings, lack the faith of someone, who doesn't have these things. One wonders what produced the faith in this centurion. We can tell, since he built a synagogue, the place where God's Word was preached and taught among the Jews, that somewhere along the line, he must have heard the Old Testament of the Jews. And it was a love for this Word that he had heard, that prompted him to build a synagogue for them. And we can further surmise that since our Lord Jesus was preaching and teaching, and healing the sick, and casting out demons in the region, that the centurion would have heard the reports about Him. Therefore, the centurion has placed his faith, not in healing powers, but in the Lord Jesus Himself. And this centurion willingly places aside his own authority, to be under our Lord's authority.

One final note about his pericope. The words that the centurion states, that proclaim his humility, are part of the prayers that ministers have been praying for centuries, as part of their prayers before receiving communion. The phrase used is, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my soul shall be healed." The priest would repeat this phrase three times, beating his chest with lower three fingers of his right hand when he said the words "not worthy." This signified that the Celebrant, although handing the people of God our Lord's Body and Blood, the true Authority and Minister was our Lord. He is just acting on our Lord's behalf. Therefore, he speaks of his unworthiness to hold this honor, and to receive the Lord's Body and Blood, for his forgiveness.

This too, should be our attitude when we receive the Lord's Supper. We should express our unworthiness to receive the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation that are given to us in the Holy Eucharist. For, on account of our sinfulness, we do not deserve to receive this gift. But on account of our Lord's Word, that is, the Words of Institution, which proclaim that the Body and Blood, given in bread and wine, are for the remission of our sins. He gives this to us freely, without any merit or worthiness on our part.

Therefore, as we enter into the season of Lent this day, let us humble ourselves before our Almighty Lord, and with ashes upon our heads, receive the Lord's Body and Blood given in bread and wine.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Ash Wednesday Customs and Rites

Deacon Dulas was asked by Iggy Antiochus to write something regarding the customs of Ash Wednesday for his blog. Specifically to provide an ancient example of the Rite of Imposition of Ashes. For those interested in reading more on the customs of Ash Wednesday, and see the ancient rite, may do so by visiting Iggy's blog All For Hymn at http://allforhymn.blogspot.com/.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

He Gave Moses Two Tablets of the Testimony, Tablets of Stone, Written with the Finger of God: Exodus 31:18-32:35

Exodus 31:18-32:35: "31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

"32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 2 And Aaron said to them, 'Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.' 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' 5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, 'Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.' 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 7 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"' 9 And the LORD said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.' 11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: 'LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, "He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?" Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever."' 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people. 15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. 17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, 'There is a noise of war in the camp.' 18 But he said: 'It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the noise of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear.' 19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses' anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, 'What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?' 22 So Aaron said, 'Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, "Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." 24 And I said to them, "Whoever has any gold, let them break it off." So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.' 25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, 'Whoever is on the LORD's side--come to me.' And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor."' 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, 'Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.' 30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, 'You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' 31 Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, 'Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.' 33 And the LORD said to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.' 35 So the LORD plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made."

As soon as God delivers His Law written by His own finger to Moses, we are shown that the people of God, have broken the Testimony. And it is the very first Commandment, that is, to not have other gods. The narrative of the golden calf is familiar to us. But here are a couple of things that should be drawn to our attention regarding this pericope.

The first is that God writes the Ten Commandments with His own finger. This reveals the love our Lord God has for His people, and how important this Law is to Him. He doesn't pass the task of writing it on to an angel, or to Moses, but He writes it Himself. This means that what He writes, He means to be kept flawlessly.

The second thing to point out is that when the Israelites approach Aaron to make them a false god, he doesn't put up any sort of an argument, at least none that is written about. He basically says, "Ok, give me your gold and silver, and I'll do it." Along these lines, and something that is interesting, is when Aaron is relaying the story to Moses, he states that when he threw the gold and the silver into the fire, the golden calf just appeared out of the flames. This is different the narrative that Moses relates earlier in the chapter, that is, that Aaron fashioned it with an engraving tool. What does that mean? It means that Aaron is lying to Moses, to make it seem like what he did wasn't that bad. Although, Aaron leaves out the part about making an altar to the golden calf, too. We also learn that Aaron was the guy left in charge by Moses, to keep the Israelites from doing just such a thing. What is truly remarkable about all this, is that Aaron is still chosen as the High Priest. This shows how forgiving our Lord can be.

Another thing to point out is that our Lord God, when He discovers what the Israelites are doing, He wants to immediately wipe out the entire nation, however, Moses intercedes for them. We see in this a prefigurement of our Lord Jesus, Who intercedes for us to the Father. But what is interesting is that as soon as Moses comes down the mountain, the same wrath that our Lord God had, now consumes him. And he smashes the stone tablets on the ground, has the calf ground into powder, and makes them drink it. Then he sends the Levites out among the Israelites, and they kill 3,000 of them. What this means, is that Moses is acting on God's behalf. He both intercedes and metes out punishment. Or to say it another way, he both forgives and retains sins, much like the ministers do today. Forgiving the sins of those who repent, but retaining the sin of those who do not repent.

The final thing to point out is that after Moses does all these things to the Israelite people, he is back to interceding to the Lord God for the people. He even makes the great statement, that he would be willing to die in the place of the Israelites for their sin (see verse 32). Moses is showing himself to be a prefigurement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Who was willing to suffer and die on behalf of us and the whole world, who are manifest sinners, so that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Everyone Who Is Perfectly Trained Will Be Like His Teacher: St. Luke 6:33-49

St. Luke 6:33-49: "33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.' 39 And He spoke a parable to them: 'Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye. 43 For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 46 But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and do not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.'"

Today is Shrove Tuesday. The day before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Lent. What is Shrove Tuesday? To "shrive" oneself, means to confess. Hence, this is the day in the Church year when the people of God, made their final preparation for Lent by going to Confession. In some Lutheran parishes, Vespers is concluded with the service of Public Confession, and then Private Confession is offered afterward, in preparation for the Mass on Ash Wednesday morning where the worshippers will receive ashes upon their foreheads in the form of a cross, reminding them that they are sinners who are in need of a Savior.

Shrove Tuesday has taken on different significance in different parts of the world. Here is an excerpt from Edward T. Horn, III's book The Christian Year, talking about Shrove Tuesday:

"The close of the period--from Quinquagesima to Ash Wednesday--has been a period for considerable celebration in anticipation of Lent. In the Middle Ages, carnivals were popular all over Europe on Shrove Tuesday which was known as Fasten's Eve in Scotland, Fastnacht in Germany, and Mardi Gras in France. In Italy masques were worn and folk comedies such as Harlequin and Columbine, Scaramouche and Pantalon, and Punchinello were presented. In Germany the Fastnachtsnarr Hans Wurst presided over the masquerade of gigantic sausages, pretzels adn beer kegs. In France the principal attraction was a fattened ox led through the streets to a barbecue. The French influence is perpetuated in the United States in the annual Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In England, the pancake is associated with Shrove Tuesday and Shakespeare's clown in All's Well That Ends Well remarks, "As fit as a pancake for Shrove Tuesday." In Germany, the doughnut came to symbolize Fastnacht. Both of these customs are believed to have been designed to use up whatever grease might be on hand before Lent began, during which its use was forbidden. Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the shrift, or confession, which was made before Lent began. It is a legal holiday in Louisiana, Alabama and Florida."

Thus far Edward T. Horn, III.

Today's reading prepares us for Lent in a different manner. It reminds us of the catechesis that will take place. In fact this whole reading, taken from the Sermon on the Mount, is catechesis. It is instruction in the commandments and teachings of our Lord. Therefore our Lord tells us that the person who is well catechized, will be just like their teacher. Our Lord Jesus may use His ministers to teach us His doctrines, but it is He who is doing the instructing. Therefore, the person who is well-educated in the doctrines and practices of the Church, will be like our Lord Jesus, meaning, the Holy Ghost will be working in them to create faith in the Heavenly Father.

The well-catechized individual also will crave to learn more and more from our Lord Jesus, just like the crowds who came from far distances to hear our Lord teach. He will also know how to better serve his neighbor. So that all the things that our Lord talks about in this pericope, he will take to heart and try to do a better job. More than that, the well-catechized individual will know that when he fails in serving his neighbor, that he has a Savior who suffered and died for him on the tree of the cross. He will know how to confess his sins, that is shrive them, and receive absolution from our Lord Jesus Christ, through the minister of God given to him by God.

Let us then today, shrive ourselves of all sin, seeking our minister to confess our sins, and receive absolution from him, for his absolution is as valid and certain, as if our Lord Jesus Christ, forgave us Himself.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

All The Words Which the LORD Has Said We Will Do: Exodus 24:1-25:9

Exodus 24:1-25:9: "24:1 Now He said to Moses, 'Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.' 3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, 'All the words which the LORD has said we will do.' 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, 'All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.' 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.' 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.' 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, 'Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.' 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

"25:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.'"

We have in this pericope what happens after our Lord God gave the Ten Commandments and other ceremonial laws that our Lord God had given to the people of Israel. What is their response? They say, "All the Words which the LORD has said we will do." They say this twice. This shows us that they received the Word of God gladly. The Law and the rights attached to the Law, that is, the requirements, did not seem to be that great of a burden to them. It was good news for them.

How often today, when somebody states the rules, are they met with joy? Furthermore, how often today when people are presented the rules do they even agree to do them? We hear it all the time in sayings like, "Rules were meant to be broken." Or, "Nobody's going to tell me what to do." Or, "You're just trying to force your moral will on me." This is not so with the Israelites, they hear the Law, that is, the rules, and gladly receive it, wishing happily to fulfill it. Now, I suppose someone could argue that the Israelites were not going to say no to God, while He was in their very presence, even if His true presence was veiled in a cloud. But the repetition of the phrase by the Israelites negates this theory, for it shows their willingness to obey God.

What is truly amazing about this pericope, is that after the people ascent to God's will, what happens? Moses and Aaron, and Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel sat down to a meal with our Lord God. Here we go again! Another meal that our Lord God has with His people. A meal in which they ate and drank. It is another allusion or prefigurement of the meal that we eat and drink with our Lord, and the whole host of Heaven, every Sunday and feast day. The meal in which He gives us His very own Body and Blood to eat and drink.

On Mount Sinai, this meal signified the unity that the people of Israel enjoyed with the Lord God. In Holy Communion, the same unity that exists between God and all those who eat is also signified. This is why the Church has always practiced closed communion, for those who are outside of the people of God, cannot eat this meal, without damning themselves. We can see this in this pericope, for even though God is claiming the Israelites as His people, and they have ascented to Him being their God, we are told that the Lord did not touch the seventy elders and the rest of the men gathered for the meal, for if He touched them, they would die.

The same thing happens in Holy Communion, for as we learn in Holy Scripture, through the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul in his Epistle to the Church at Corinth, those who eat and drink unworthily, are eating damnation unto themselves. To eat and drink unworthily means two things, first, to not believe that our Lord's Body and Blood are truly present in themselves in the bread and wine. The second thing, is to not be in unity and fellowship with those who one is eating and drinking with. This unity and fellowship includes agreement on doctrine and practice on what the Church teaches.

This is another rule of our Lord God, that when revealed to people, it draws ire and reproach from those that hear it. But those that show their disdain for the rules, show their disdain both for the fellowship that is enjoyed by those who eat and drink, and disdain for the Lord God, who gave the rule. How grand it would be if we all were like the Israelites, who when presented with the rules, gladly said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do." For then there would exist true unity between us, and we could all join together in unity and eat and drink our Lord's meal.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Love Your Enemies, Do Good, and Lend, Hoping For Nothing in Return: St. Luke 6:1-35

St. Luke 6:1-35: "1 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, 'Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?' 3 But Jesus answering them said, 'Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?' 5 And He said to them, 'The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.' 6 Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Arise and stand here.' And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, 'I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?' 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. 12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor. 17 And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18 as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all. 20 Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. 24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets. 27 But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32 But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.'"

As we draw closer to Lent, we hear the Words of our Lord from the Sermon on the Mount once again, telling us how we are to behave towards our neighbor. The summary is to love without expecting to be loved back. To do good things, without expecting a reward, or receiving gratitude or thanks for having done it. We are to lend, whether that be money, or food, or clothes, not expecting it to be given back. In other words, we are to do these things freely. This is what Christians are supposed to do. However, we know all too well, that we fail miserably at this.

For we are always expecting some return for our good works. For example when it comes to love, even among the people we love the most, we expect that they tell us that they love us back, and if they don't then we assume that they are mad at us, or we did something we ought not to have done. We all like to have a pat on the back sometimes, and be told that we are doing things the right way, and that our efforts are being noticed.

Our Lord, though requires us to do these things without expecting anything in return, that is, to do these things that our Lord lists, unconditionally.

This prepares us for Lent. For during Lent we will hear instruction in the Ten Commandments. In the Second Table of the Law, we learn about what responsibilities we have toward our neighbor, and when we hear them, we will realize how far off we have missed the mark. This will produce in us one of two reactions. One, we will ignore the warning signs, and think about all the good things we have done, and we will tell ourselves, quite mistakenly, that we are not that bad of people, for there are numerous examples of more corrupt and incorrigible individuals. And we will go on with our lives as if we had never heard the Law and the preaching on the Commandments.

The second reaction that instruction in the Ten Commandments will produce in us is despair. We will realize how much we have failed, and how often we continue to fail to do what our Lord desires us to do. And we will sorrow over our sins, and desire to do better, but every time we hear the Commandments again, we will once again be reminded of our failure. For those of us in this category, we are ripe to hear the Gospel, and we are ready for the teachings of Passiontide, where we will hear over and over again, that our punishment, and our constant breaking of the Law, has been paid for, and the penalty is removed from us, and placed upon our Lord Jesus Christ, who placed all of our sin and guilt on the altar of the cross, and sacrificed it once and for all to our Heavenly Father.

And our Lord Jesus, Who stands has both High Priest, offering atonement on our behalf, and as the sacrificial Lamb, will have His sacrifice accepted by His Heavenly Father, and upon His intercession on our behalf to the Father, our sins will be forgiven. And upon hearing this, we have extreme joy.

This is something those who try to good work their way into Heaven, will never experience. Those who do not see the depravity of their souls, will never see the great sacrifice that our Lord and Savior offered for us. Therefore, count yourself blessed, when your sins are pointed out to you, for it is one more chance to hear of the cross. And when we have heard about the cross, and the unconditional love that our Lord shows us in it, we learn to show this same love towards our fellowman, the Holy Ghost working through us. More importantly, when we do fail, and don't do as the Law commands, we learn to place those sins into the ears of our Minister, who, standing in the place of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgives those sins, putting in front of our eyes, once again the cross, pulling us out of despair and sorrow over our sins, and giving us joy at God's great love for us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

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