Lord, Teach Us to Pray: St. Luke 10:38-11:13

St. Luke 10:38-11:13: "10:38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.' 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'

"11:1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.' 2 So He said to them, 'When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.' 5 And He said to them, 'Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him;" 7 and he will answer from within and say, "Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you?" 8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!'"

Our Lord teaches us two things in today's pericope. One, how the ministers of God should behave when they go into the homes of those who receive them. And two, how to pray to our Heavenly Father for those things we need.

Our Lord Jesus teaches us that when the ministers of God go into the homes of those who receive them, that they "should not remain idle, but should rather fill the minds of those who receive them with sacred and divine teachings."* That is, that they are tasked with preaching the Word of God at all times in the midst of those who receive them. They are to be the embodiment of the Word of God among the people of God. Our Lord does this, in that when He enters the home of Mary and Martha (and we learn in other places, that this is the home of Lazarus in Bethany) He sits down to teach and preach.

We also learn from the Blessed Mary how those who receive the ministers of God are to receive them and their words. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus. She didn't just sit nearby, but at His feet, that is, she shows her diligence, eagerness, and steadfastness in hearing our Lord's Word. She wants nothing more than to hear what our Lord has to say. Martha on the other hand is consumed with being a good hostess. And in her obsession, she misses out on the opportunity to hear what our Lord teaches.

This is true for us as well, when the ministers of God come into our homes, we may be tempted to be more concerned about being good hosts and hostesses, than hearing what he has to say. This is why the ministers of God visit people in their homes, they come to bring the Word of God, that is not to say that other things cannot take place, but both minister and hearers have an obligation to preach and hear, respectively. The danger that is being expressed, is the minister who never says anything about what God has done, or, the hearer, who doesn't want the minister to say anything about God and what He has done. Are you the type of person who doesn't want the minister in your home, because you don't want him to be "all preachy?" Then you should repent, for this is for your benefit. He has been sent by God, and to not receive him, is to not receive our Lord Jesus. A similar question can be asked of the ministers of God, are you the type of minister who goes into people's homes, and do not say anything about God, because you do not want to sound "all preachy?" Then repent, for you have been sent by God, to bring the good news of salvation to those people.

In this Mary chooses the better thing, for she shows how diligently we are to cling to the Word of God, and crave for it to be spoken to us. And our Lord Jesus, is all to willing to oblige.

The second thing our Lord teaches us, is to pray. And He teaches His disciples (and us) by giving them the Lord's Prayer. This gives us a good chance to look at the Lord's Prayer, and receive some catechesis on it. Afterall, being in Lent, this is the season for catechesis. Therefore let us look briefly at each petition.

Our Lord begins teaching us how to pray, by teaching us to Whom we are to address our prayers. We are to beseech our Heavenly Father. After the Lord's Prayer in the text, He even gives us examples of how we are to imagine our Heavenly Father, that is, as a father. When we ask our earthly fathers for something, and we are told by Jesus, that even the evil ones do this, our fathers, because of their love for their sons, give us good things. And we knowing how our earthly fathers give to us, we have no qualms about asking them for the things we need. Therefore, we should have the same relationship with our Heavenly Father, not afraid to ask Him for the things we need.

Our Lord then explains to His disciples what things are to be asked for from our Heavenly Father, and these can be broken down into two categories. One, is spiritual needs, and the other is physical needs. Our daily earthly needs are sandwiched in the Lord's Prayer, between our daily spiritual needs.

Like the Ten Commandments, where the first three deal with our Lord God, in the Lord's Prayer, the first three deal with our greatest needs. Our first need is that God would hallow His Name, that is, that He would make His Name holy among us. Now we know that God's Name is holy in and of itself, but we pray that God would make His Name holy among us. How is this done? God's Name is made holy among us when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution, and we gladly and willing require and enjoy His Word preached in its purity. Therefore, those who don't care about such things, or do not think that preaching correct doctrine is as important as "getting the Word out" are profaning the Name of God among us. Of course, one is not actually "getting the Word out" if the Word that is being put out there is incorrect.

The second spiritual need we have is that our Lord's kingdom would come among us. Again, God's kingdom comes in and by itself, even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come among us. So, how does God's kingdom come? It comes when He gives us His Holy Spirit. In other words, whenever the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and the Sacraments are administered according to Christ's institution in our midst, the Holy Spirit is give to us. And when that happens, He, through the outpouring of His grace upon us, creates in us faith and life, so that we may believe the Word that was preached, and believe that in the Sacraments we receive forgiveness, life and salvation. In short, in order for our Lord's kingdome to come to us, we need the means of grace given to us in their truth and purity. Wherever the means of grace are not given out, or are given out contrary to Christ's institution, the kingdom of God cannot come, nor can His Holy Spirit create and sustain faith and life in us by the outpouring of His grace.

The third spiritual need that we must ask for and receive before requesting any earthly need, is that our Lord's will would be done on earth, in the same way that it is done in Heaven. Again, we know that God's will is done without our prayer, but we pray that it may be done among us, or in other words, that we may gladly and willing receive His holy will. How is this done? Whenever God breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our flesh, which do not want us to make God's Name holy among us, nor let His kingdom come among us. In other words, God's will is done when we make sure that the first two petitions are happening among us, that we do not become apathetic towards God's Word, and correct doctrine and practice, nor allow false teaching and practice to exist among us. For when we are apathetic, or allow false practice to exist among us, we are weakened in our faith. This is what the second part of the Blessed Martin Luther's explanation to this petition explains, that is, that when we are allowing God's will to be done, and His kingdom to come, He is strengthening and perserving us in the One True Faith. This is why the Word of God, and the right administration of the Sacraments in our midst are so important, for these are the means by which the Holy Ghost works to create and sustain, and strengthen our faith. Where these things do not exist, our faith is either weakened, or in grave danger of being wasted away.

Having learned how to ask our Heavenly Father to keep His Word and Sacraments pure in our midst, we are now ready to ask for those things which we need to sustain this body and life. For when we have the Word of God in its truth and purity, we learn to be content with the simple things that our Lord gives us, and we ask only for the necessities to sustain life. This is why the next petition simply states, "Give us this day our daily bread." For in daily bread is meant all that we need to support this body and life, or to say it another way, we are asking for only those things which we need to support our earthly life. God certainly gives daily bread without our prayer, and on account of His grace and love for His creation, He even gives it freely to all evil people. But when we ask our Heavenly Father to give us daily bread, we are acknowledging from Whom our earthly bread comes from, and we are by virtue giving Him thanks for it.

Having taken care of our spiritual and earthly needs, we now turn to those things that attack us in this life, and draw us away from our Heavenly Father, and that is sin. Both the sin that we commit, and the sin that is commited against us. This petition rightly follows the others, for part of our sin, is being lax in God's Word, and receiving and rejoicing in the Sacraments. We also daily have desires that go way beyond what we need to support this body and life, for we do become discontent with our lives, and chase after the things of this life. There are also those who commit sins against us, for we live in an evil world full of sin. Therefore in this petition we request our Heavenly Father to forgive us of our sins, and we also request Him to forgive those who sin against us, releasing them from the sins that they committed against us, so that we do not hold those sins against them. It should be pointed out that this petition does not require them to ask for forgiveness. It should also be said, that when we hold grudges, we are making the second half of this petition out to be a lie. This is dangerous, for we learn from our Lord Jesus, that when we refuse to forgive our neighbors who have sinned against us, our Heavenly Father, will not forgive us. This of course, does not apply to those who through Church discipline have publicly had their sins retained. This petition is probably best summed up in the words of the Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, who said, "Bear with one another."

The sixth petition request our Heavenly Father to give us the strength to resist temptation, so that we may not be led, or deceived, into false belief, despair, or other great shame or vice. This of course is done through the Holy Ghost, who dwells within us, by continued use of the means of grace. We may be assailed by the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, but by the Holy Ghost, we may overcome them and obtain the victory over temptation.

Finally, our prayer to our Heavenly Father sums up our lost condition, and prays that we would be delivered from the evil one. This petition has to do with our last hour on this Earth. When we pray this petition we are praying that our Lord would keep us free from all evil that would remove us from receiving our eternal reward in Heaven. We are saying when we pray, "Deliver us from evil" that our Lord would grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself in Heaven. This is why when this petition is prayed those who pray it make the sign of the Holy Cross at the word "deliver." For we are delivered from the evil one, and are granted a blessed end, and an eternal home in Heaven, by the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose suffering and death, won for us forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation.

We wrap up our prayer by saying, "Amen." That is to say, "We know that what we have just prayed for, You O Lord, will grant to us, and we believe that You will freely give us all that we ask for and more." Therefore, the Church has prayed this prayer daily and much. In the past it was prayed whenever the Church Bells were rung, announcing the time of prayer, and those who were unable to come to the Lord's house for prayer, would stop and pray this prayer in their stations in life. The Blessed Martin Luther suggested that this prayer should be prayed when we awake in the morning, before and after meals, and when we lie down to sleep. This prayer is also prayed in both Matins and Vespers, the morning and evening prayers, respectively. This means that we ask our Heavenly Father for all spiritual and earthly needs, about ten times a day (if one eats three meals a day). Ten being the number of perfect completion, we pray this prayer completely and perfectly every day.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

* St. Cyril

So They Started Out For the First Time According to the Command of the LORD By the Hand of Moses: Numbers 10:11-36

Numbers 10:11-36: "11 Now it came to pass on the twentieth day of the second month, in the second year, that the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle of the Testimony. 12 And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran. 13 So they started out for the first time according to the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses. 14 The standard of the camp of the children of Judah set out first according to their armies; over their army was Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 15 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar. 16 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon. 17 Then the tabernacle was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari set out, carrying the tabernacle. 18 And the standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their armies; over their army was Elizur the son of Shedeur. 19 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 20 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy things. (The tabernacle would be prepared for their arrival.) 22 And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set out according to their armies; over their army was Elishama the son of Ammihud. 23 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 24 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. 25 Then the standard of the camp of the children of Dan (the rear guard of all the camps) set out according to their armies; over their army was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26 Over the army of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ocran. 27 And over the army of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan. 28 Thus was the order of march of the children of Israel, according to their armies, when they began their journey. 29 Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, 'We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said, "I will give it to you." Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to Israel.' 30 And he said to him, 'I will not go, but I will depart to my own land and to my relatives.' 31 So Moses said, 'Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes. 32 And it shall be, if you go with us--indeed it shall be--that whatever good the LORD will do to us, the same we will do to you.' 33 So they departed from the mountain of the LORD on a journey of three days; and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them for the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was above them by day when they went out from the camp. 35 So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: 'Rise up, O LORD! Let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.' 36 And when it rested, he said: 'Return, O LORD, to the many thousands of Israel.'"

In today's reading from the Old Testament we see the order and structure with which the Lord has arranged the marching of the tribes of Israel. Notice the time that they have sojourned in the wilderness so far, after leaving Egypt. A year, two months, and twenty days have passed since they left Egypt. It has taken them this long to make all the preparations necessary that our Lord God wanted accomplished in order for Him to be their God, and lead them into the promised land of Canaan. This lectionary doesn't go into all minutia of the Law, and all the details that were required by our Lord God in the building and preparation of the Tabernacle, and other holy things. But from the time line we can see that it took some time for these things to be ordered and completed. And now that all those preparations have been completed, the Israelites begin their march toward Canaan.

We are told that the Israelites left the Wilderness of Sinai and went to the Wilderness of Paran. This is just a summary of the entire journey, for we learn in a later chapter that they stopped at one other place along the way, i.e., Hazeroth. But the entire journey is summed up by Moses, because the Wilderness of Paran is where the twelve spies were sent out into the land of Canaan. So that where they made preparations, and the land where they were told that they would spend the remainder of forty years wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief are mentioned by Moses.

Another interesting thing about this pericope is the order of the march of the Israelites. The sons of Judah, being the rightful heir, lead the procession. Being flanked by Zebulun and Issachar's children on the left and the right. Then the Gershonites and Merarites of the tribe of the Levites, charged with the task of carrying the Tabernacle of Meeting. These would go before the Israelites to find a suitable place to camp, and would be able to set up the Tabernacle of Meeting, before the Holy Things arrived.

Next came the tribe of Reuben, flanked by Gad and Simeon. Following them, would come the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi, who had been charged with the task of carrying the Holy Things, the instruments for use in the Tabernacle of Meeting. When they arrived at the camp, the Gershonites and Merarities having already set up the Tabernacle, the Kohathites could place these sacred items directly into the Tent of Meeting.

The next group was the tribe of Ephraim, flanked by Manasseh and Benjamin. All these were the sons born to Rachel. Ephraim and Manasseh being sons of Joseph. Finally, in the rear, was Dan, flanked by Asher and Naphtali. The tribe of Dan was in charge of keeping the entire host of Israel together. That is, so that none got left behind.

Therefore, twelve tribes marched in four groups of three, with the Levites, carrying the Tabernacle of Meeting, and the Sacred Things for the Tabernacle between Judah and Reuben, respectively.

In front of them all, was the Ark of the Covenant. And above the Ark was the pillar of cloud that first led them out of Egypt. When the Israelites had left Egypt, they were led by a pillar of cloud by day and by a pillar of fire at night. These pillars were the embodiment of our Lord God, now, He would lead them by the carrying of His throne, the Ark of the Covenant. And the pillar of cloud, being above the Ark, would lead and direct the Ark-bearers where to go. He would go before them, and find them a suitable place to rest and camp. Therefore, our Lord God leads His people, just as He leads us today by His holy Word and Sacraments, showing us the way of salvation, and giving us a place of rest and comfort from the wilderness of the sin-parched life.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

After These Things the Lord Appointed Seventy Others Also: St. Luke 10:1-22

St. Luke 10:1-22: "1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. 5 But whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house." 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. 9 And heal the sick there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you." 10 But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 "The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you." 12 But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city. 13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. 16 He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.' 17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.' 18 And He said to them, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.' 21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, 'I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 22 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.'"

After our Lord Jesus has firmly set His face to go to Jerusalem, He sends out seventy disciples to preach that the kingdom of God was at hand. It is interesting that the Evangelist records this narrative, for according to certain Early Fathers, St. Luke (and St. Mark), was one of these seventy chosen by our Lord to be sent out. This is interesting, because the same Early Fathers record for us that St. Luke (and St. Mark) was a part of the group of followers of our Lord Jesus Christ who after hearing the words of our Lord recorded in the Gospel of St. John, the sixth chapter, left our Lord Jesus. We are told that St. Luke (and St. Mark) returned later, repenting of his sin, and became a writer of the Gospel.

This is mentioned, because some manuscripts say the seventy, and others seventy-two. Well, why the difference? The explanation given by these Fathers is that certain manuscripts leave out the two who left our Lord after the events in St. John chapter 6. That is, St. Luke and St. Mark are not included in the numbering of some manuscripts, and in other manuscripts they are.

If the report of those certain Early Fathers is accurate (see Hippolytus and Eusebius), then we can assume that the Evangelist St. Luke had a first hand knowledge of the event recorded in this pericope, because he was there. Regardless, there are some differences to be noted between our Lord sending out the twelve Apostles, and the sending of these seventy (or seventy-two) disciples. There are also some similarities.

They, like the Apostles, were not to bring anything with them. They were also not to speak to anyone that they met along the way. This means that they were sent to certain places and individuals, not just to whomever they met. There is no standing on a street corner with a big sign, or a megaphone for the Apostles and theses seventy disciples. Our Lord tasks them with preaching to certain people, and at certain times.

Another similarity between the Apostles and the seventy were that those cities which did not receive them, were to be publicly admonished by the shaking of the dust from their feet, and the proclamation against the particular city.

However, unlike the Apostles, wherever they ended up, they were to stay there. And receive whatever wages those who welcomed them would give them. The Apostles were to go from town to town, the seventy disciples were to find a town that would welcome them to hear the Gospel, and stay there. From this difference we can see that the seventy disciples were not tasked by our Lord, in the same way that the Apostles were tasked.

St. Augustine states that these seventy (in his reading from a different variation on the text he states the seveny-two) represent the second order of clergy, namely, the presbyters, or priests. The Apostles represented the order of Bishops. Therefore, the seventy's calling and sending did not involve tasks that belonged to the Apostles. Just like the Apostles had tasks that were specific to them alone. St. Cyril also makes this distinction adding that Moses prefigured this calling of the seventy when he chose seventy Israelites, by the command of God, to pour out His Spirit. St. Cyril goes on to say that this was also prefigured in the Book of Moses, commonly called Numbers, when they reached Elim, and there were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palms. Hearing him in is own words is best:

"In the book of Numbers also it was written of the children of Israel, that they came to Elim, which is by interpretation 'ascent,' and there were there twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees. For when we fly to spiritual refreshment, we shall find twelve fountains, namely, the holy Apostles, from whom we imbibe the knowledge of salvation as from the well-springs of the Saviour; and seventy palms, that is, those who were now appointed by Christ. For the palm is a tree of sound core, striking deep root and fruitful, always growing by the water side, yet at the same time putting forth its leaves upwards."

Thus far St. Cyril. What a lovely comparison! The words of the Apostles, which became for us the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament are the words by which we learn of our Lord Jesus, and what He has done, and does for us. And our Lord plants palms, that is ministers of His Word, next to those holy streams of His salvation, to proclaim to all that the stream of salvation is nearby, for a palm tree always grows near the water.

Therefore we have water and palms to lead us to our Lord Jesus, and quench our sin-parched lips with the refreshing Gospel of forgiveness, life and salvation. And these ministers of God, who today, like the seventy of this account, are called to one place, and serve those who would receive them, and they gladly receive whatever wage is offered to them, all so that those might hear that the kingdom of God is at hand, that is, that our Lord Jesus has come, and He has fulfilled the Law perfectly for us, and suffered and died in our place, so that we might have forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Because All the Firstborn Are Mine: Numbers 3:5-13

Numbers 3:5-13: "5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 6 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him. 7 And they shall attend to his needs and the needs of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of meeting, to do the work of the tabernacle. 8 Also they shall attend to all the furnishings of the tabernacle of meeting, and to the needs of the children of Israel, to do the work of the tabernacle. 9 And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel. 10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but the outsider who comes near shall be put to death.' 11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 'Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, 13 because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the LORD.'"

This pericope combines two things, the priesthood and the firstborn. One can not help but think of our own High Priest, Who is also the Firstborn out of all the dead, and the one and only beloved Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is an exchange that happens between the Israelites and the Lord God. The firstborn of everyone who opens the womb belonged to God, but here in exchange for them, He takes the tribe of Levi to serve Him. We are also told by the Lord God, that the firstborn of the Israel, were claimed by God, in exchange for the firstborn of the people of the Egyptian's firstborn which He killed so that He could redeemed the Israelites.

This seems to be the way of Holy Scripture, one person or group of persons, takes the place of other persons or groups. This, of course, finds its fulfillment in our High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, who takes our place, exchanges Himself for our condition and our penalty, so that He might redeem us back from sin, death and the devil.

One may wonder why the Levites are chosen out of all the other tribes. Is it because it is the tribe that Moses and Aaron were in? Is it because their inheritance was given to the sons of Joseph? The answer is because they showed their loyalty to God, when Aaron made the golden calf and Moses called out that all those who were loyal to God were to draw near to him, and the Levites did so (Ex. 32:26). This also gave our Lord God a reason to do away with His early requirement regarding offering sacrifices for all the the firstborn children of the Israelites given in Exodus chapter 13. Now there would only be requirements for purification after childbirth.

Therefore our Lord makes an exchange, and redeems His people the Israelites. And He redeems us by exchanging His Son for us.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Now It Came to Pass, When the Time Had Come For Him to Be Received Up, That He Steadfastly Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem: St. Luke 9:28-62

St. Luke 9:28-62: "1 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, 'Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'--not knowing what he said. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!' 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen. 37 Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, 'Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.' 41 Then Jesus answered and said, 'O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.' 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God. But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 'Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.' 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying. 46 Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, 'Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.' 49 Now John answered and said, 'Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.' 50 But Jesus said to him, 'Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.' 51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?' 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.' And they went to another village. 57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, 'Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.' 58 And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.' 59 Then He said to another, 'Follow Me.' But he said, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' 60 Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.' 61 And another also said, 'Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.' 62 But Jesus said to him, 'No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'"

The events of this narrative follow eight days after the Lord has told them about His suffering and death in Jerusalem. The Evangelist St. Luke supplies some of the details that were missing in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark. We learn that the three disciples that our Lord took with Him were heavy with sleep, and did not see His glory until they were fully awake. It is almost as if they had fallen asleep and awoke in another reality. Another thing that the Evangelist St. Luke reveals that the other Gospel writers do not, is that the disciples and our Lord, spent the night on the mountain. For we are told that they came down the next day from the mountain, after His transfiguration.

Another thing we learn from the Evangelist St. Luke regarding the transfiguration of our Lord, is what our Lord Jesus, and Moses and Elijah spoke about on that mount. We are told they spoke about "His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." In other words, they spoke about His crucifixion and death. Even after our Lord and His disciples come down from the mountain, and He casts out a demon, our Lord Jesus tells His disciples that He was about to be betrayed into the hands of men. Then comes these great words for our ears to hear, "He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem." Meaning, that our Lord sets His purpose and will to accomplish the will of His Heavenly Father, that He discussed with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. He sets His will to suffer and die for our sins.

Having fulfilled the Law for us; Having given many proofs of His Divinity, and that He was indeed the promised Messiah; Having shown His power and authority over the devil and the powers of darkness; He marches toward Jerusalem, like a military general set on defeating and capturing his enemy in one final battle.

There in Jerusalem our Lord, as we well know, will be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, suffer mockery, spittings, beatings, and scourging, and be sent to be crucified to death. All this He does for our salvation. As He says, "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." He gets destroyed for us, so that we would not be destroyed. The fire of the Father's wrath over the sin of mankind is poured down upon Him on the cross, so that we would not suffer that wrath.

Therefore, at the beginning of this Lenten season, we also set our face steadfastly towards Jerusalem and the cross. For it is at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, that we lay our sins, and receive His forgiveness.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Then the Eyes of Both of Them Were Opened: Genesis 3:1-24

Genesis 3:1-24: "1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" -- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

We also begin the season of Lent, on the first Sunday, by hearing about the fall of Adam into sin. And notice that even though Eve is the one that is deceived by the serpent, it is Adam who is charged with the sin. He did not have to eat of the tree, when his wife offered it to him. Moreover, we learn from this pericope that Adam was there with Eve, during the conversation with the serpent, and he did not speak up, and correct his wife, nor rebuke the serpent for his cunning and wiles. No, Adam was a willing participant in his own downfall, and the fall of mankind into sin.

The serpent told them that they would have knowledge. But having eaten the fruit, what did they learn? They learned they were naked. They realized their loss of innocence, they realized they had sinned. And having fashioned fig leaves to cover themselves, our Lord God came to them. But the bond that existed between Creator and the created was already severed, and because of their unholiness, they could not bear to be in the presence the Lord God, therefore, they hid themselves.

They chose the darkness, over the light. They chose the secret places, instead of the freedom and openness of our Lord. And this has been the condition of mankind, ever since.

This is our condition. A condition of separation from the Lord God. But here at the advent of Lent, we see the beginnings of our Lord's plan of deliverance and rescue from this condition of lostness through His battle with the serpent. But no longer does it take place in a Garden, but it takes place in the desert. Our Lord Jesus, enters into the place where the devil's and sins power has grown strongest, and battles that serpent the devil, for us. And unlike Adam and Eve, and unlike us, He conquers temptation, He conquers the devil.

Our Lord begins His journey to the cross in a desert, but He ends His journey in a garden, and in that garden is a tomb, freshly cut, never used. It is the tomb that Adam created on account of distrust and disobedience to our Lord. However, our Lord occupies that tomb that was set apart for Adam and his sons, and breaks the bonds of death, once and for all, by His resurrection.

Therefore, let us lay our sins, at the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus, and let Him bury those sins in that tomb forever, so that with Him, we may have eternal life.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Behold, Now Is the Accepted Time: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10

2 Corinthians 6:1-10: "1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. 4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

The first Sunday in Lent begins with our Lord's temptation in the wilderness, immediately after His Holy Baptism in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist, by the devil. The Blessed Apostle, St. Paul, states in his Second Epistle to the Church at Corinth, that now is the acceptable time. The acceptable time that St. Paul refers to is the time for the preaching about our Lord Jesus Christ's suffering and death on the cross.

From the first Sunday in Lent we are immediately driven to the work of Christ for our salvation. And the first thing He does is publicly battle the devil. And so, now is the time to prepare for the cross. Our Lord prepares, by battling with the devil. The Apostles prepared by preaching the Gospel, that is, that our Lord suffered and died for us, and for all mankind, so that we might have forgivness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. And we prepare for the cross, by fastings, prayer, study of God's Word, and confessing of our sins.

Now is the time. Now is the day of salvation. Therefore, let us prepare for the preaching on the crucifixion, by preparing our hearts and minds, by hearing the preaching of the Gospel, and receiving the Sacraments.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

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