LESSON: LUKE 19:11‒26

“As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.” Matthew 25:45

What do you think that Christ on His judgment seat will say in all brevity to such an unchristian lack of mercy? This is what He will say: “You want to be called a Christian and you make your boast of the Gospel. Did you never hear this sermon which I Myself preached warning you what My judgment and final sentence would be? ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me’ (Matthew 25:41‒43). Why have you disregarded all this and acted more disgracefully and more unmercifully against your own brethren than a Turk or a heathen? Are you thinking of making matters right for yourself by offering the excuse, ‘When did I see my brother in any of these situations or conditions?’ Here your own conscience will remind you that there were those of your acquaintance who preached to you, or poor scholars who should have been taught and trained in the Word of God, as well as persecuted, poor, and needy Christians, who should have been given food, drink, and clothing, and also visited.”

Surely we should hang our heads in shame over against our parents and forefathers, the lords and kings, princes and others, who so richly and benevolently gave gifts even to a point of excess to churches, parishes, schools, institutions, hospitals, and the like, as a result of which neither they nor their descendants became any poorer. What would they have done if they had had the light of the Gospel which we have received?

SL.XI.1890,14‒15

PRAYER: Lord our God, in Your Gospel of salvation You have supplied us richly with the most precious gifts and blessings that we can ever enjoy. Strengthen us at all times with Your grace that we may make full use of all these blessings in love towards our brethren and fellowmen, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXVI - SUNDAY

LESSON: MATTHEW 25:31‒42

“Men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” Luke 13:29‒30

In this Gospel, great prominence is given to good works as proof of the possession or absence of true faith. Those on Christ’s right hand at the judgment, the sheep, have proved the genuineness of their faith in works of love to needy brethren. Those on His left hand, the goats, who have been rejected for eternal punishment in hell, have proved that they really had no saving faith at all by the absence of such works of love to their brethren. Here Christ also indicates that there are many among those regarded as Christians who actually become worse than heathen after hearing the preaching of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins and of God’s grace through Christ. Christ Himself declared, “Many that are first will be last, and the last first” (Matthew 19:30).

At the final judgment, it will become quite evident that many of those who should have proved themselves to be true Christians because they heard the Gospel actually became worse and more unmerciful than they were before. One sees clear evidence of this on all sides today. Previously, when good works were enjoined under papal perversions and false acts of worship, everyone was ready and willing to do good works. A single prince or one city was able to provide greater and richer endowments and alms than can be provided today by the joint efforts of all kings and the Emperor.

Today the whole world has learned nothing else but to lay others under contribution, to practice oppression, open robbery, and stealth by means of lies, deceit, usury, overcharging, and other pressures. Every man tries to gain an advantage over his neighbor, as though he regarded him not as a friend and even much less as a brother in Christ.

SL.XI.1888,9‒12

PRAYER: Never let our faith die as a result of greed and selfishness, O God, but let it always be in us a real power unto salvation, productive of many good works, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - SATURDAY

LESSON: MATTHEW 24:36‒44

“For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man.” Matthew 24:27

Christ means to say here: “Do not believe it if some attempt is made to make you believe that Christ is limited to this place or that place and someone tries to lead you from faith to works. I warn you not to fall away from pure faith. You do not know at what hour I will come again. When no one is really expecting it, I will suddenly be here again as quickly as a flash of lightning lights up the heavens. Those who have not kept the faith will then be lost. See to it that the day does not come upon you unawares. Be strong in faith so that you do not become lazy and sleepy and the devil tears you away from faith.”

These words are simply written down here one after the other, without order. Matthew heaps up everything here without order. So the following words do not really fit in very well here: “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together” (Matthew 24:28).

What He means is that we should not ask for the exact place where Christ will come again. “No matter where I am, we shall probably find each other, as we say, ‘Wherever there is a body, there the eagles will gather together.’ Eagles do not fly to some particular spot that they have selected for themselves; but wherever there is a body they gather together. Hence those who are Mine will doubtless find Me. Where I am, My chosen ones will also be.”

This text speaks of the end of the Jews and of the world. Matthew mingles this with the signs of the last day. Luke writes of these matters quite clearly.

SL.XI.1883,29‒30
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You have taught us clearly in Your Word that this world will end, and that Your Son Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Keep us strong in faith so that we are always prepared to meet Christ when He comes again, trusting in His merits and clothes in His righteousness, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - FRIDAY

LESSON: LUKE 17:22‒37

“If they say to you, ‘Lo, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; if they say, ‘Lo, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.” Matthew 24:26

At the time of the holy fathers, like Anthony and others, shortly after the time of the apostles, the error of which Christ spoke here had already arisen, although strongly opposed by Anthony. Everybody became interested in the wilderness, and many thousands of saints made their homes there. This kind of devotion soon gained such repute and publicity that Jerome and Augustine became its adoring devotees and could not praise it highly enough.

If we look at this business without blinkers on, however, we see that Christ’s words here in the text are absolutely opposed to it, and that among all these thousands there were many heretics who must have been damned. Although there were also holy people in the deserts who escaped being seduced, the example they set was certainly dangerous and not to be held up for emulation.

The Christian life must not simply be linked with the desert but must be allowed freedom to develop everywhere. Christ lived His life here on earth in the midst of the world, and so also did His apostles. It is Christ’s will that we should step out into the world even today to preach publicly and exhort men to come to Christ.

Those who went out into the wilderness simply forsook their fellowmen and refused to stay in the world because they thought that they were being called upon to suffer too much in this world. They chose their own ascetic way of life because they wanted to be higher-ranking Christians than the others who remained in the world.

SL.XI.1882,28
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: Lord God, heavenly Father, it is Your will that we should spend our lives in the midst of our fellowmen here in this world. Give us at all times the insights and the love to really serve our fellowmen in a way that will bring them, together with us, to the enjoyment of the blessings You have prepared for us, through Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - THURSDAY

LESSON: JOHN 6:66‒69

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Christ’s words lie before us plain and clear. We must believe them and let them stand. We cannot get over them, even though the holy angels in heaven opposed them. Is not Christ holier than they are, and should not His Word have as much authority as theirs? He does not speak of many, nor of the large body who always make up the majority, but of the smallest group made up from the elect. These are going to stumble to such an extent that there is every likelihood that they could be misled. He warns us not to cling to them when we see them clinging to mere externals. If they never err, then Christ cannot be quite truthful in making this announcement. Hence, even if all the saints were to come forward and tell me to believe in the pope, I will still not do so, saying, “Even though you are the elect, Christ has said that there will be such terrible and dangerous times that even you will err.”

We must cling alone to Scripture and God’s Word which declares that He is not here or there. I must be where He is. He is not necessarily where my work or particular rank is. Anyone who teaches me otherwise deceives me. Hence, I repeat, there is no point in raising the objection that the holy fathers and teachers held such and such a view, and lived such and such a life, and therefore we must hold the same views and live the same lives.

The only argument we admit runs as follows: “Christ taught and held such and such views, and therefore we must also hold these views.” Christ has more authority for us than all the saints.

SL.XI.1881,27
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: As Your beloved children, heavenly Father, we must always believe and obey You rather than men. Fill our hearts with such trust and confidence that we always obey Your Word, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - WEDNESDAY

LESSON: MARK 13:14‒23

“False Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

These are choice, earnest, but also terrible words that these preachers of works will push such teaching into the people with such outward glitter and emphasis that even the saints who stand fast in the faith will not be able to guard themselves against it, but will join in error with the rest. This is indeed what happened. The dear fathers, Augustine, Jerome, together with St. Bernard, Gregory, Francis, Dominic, and many others, although they were holy, nevertheless all fell at times into error, as I have often demonstrated elsewhere.

Their error was the error of their time. Together with their contemporaries, they tied Christianity to certain external practices, and they pushed matters so far that they adopted such practices outwardly in their lives. We see this in the books of St. Bernard. He writes very poorly in reply to questions on the monastic vocation. But when he writes freely out of his inner Christian spirit, he is a fine preacher whom it is a pleasure to hear. This is also the case with Augustine, Jerome, and Cyprian, the fine Christian martyrs. When they were asked a question about the Law or external ordinances, whether one should observe them this way or that, they flopped right into things so that they came very close to being misled.

This is still one of the chief objections we hear from our opponents. “Could so many holy men and teachers have erred, and could God have forsaken the world to such an extent?” they ask us. They do not see how this passage really turns them topsy-turvy.

SL.XI.1880,26
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: We know how easy it is, heavenly Father, for even outstanding believers and teachers to fall into error. Guide us by Your Holy Spirit into the truth and keep us in it, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - TUESDAY

LESSON: GALATIANS 3:10‒14

“If anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” Matthew 24:23

We should know and understand this passage and similar ones very well. There have always been those who have tried to gain currency for their ideas of the kingdom of Christ by attaching the Christian Church to external, visible features and circumstances, or even by identifying it with certain prominent leaders, claiming that the kingdom of Christ is wherever a certain leader is to be found. Their chief objective is that we should find them and be influenced by personal relationships and particular styles in our religious persuasions. In other words, everything is decided by external factors. Monasteries and ecclesiastical institutions have often been influenced in this way. “If you accept our way of life,” they say, “eat as we do, dress according to our direction, pray and fast as we do, you will atone for your sins and be saved.”

Christ gives us a good description of this kind of thing here. He is aiming His remarks especially at all the monasteries, religious ranks, and all the special works with which they try to help the souls of men. He warns us to be on our guard and not to allow ourselves to be torn from the foundation on which we stand; namely, that we do not become Christians by any of these institutions, ranks, or works, but are saved from all evil and brought into His kingdom through His blood alone, if we believe in Him.

He removes from our sight everything temporal and external, and with one word strikes down all doctrine which does not preach faith purely, and all living which is not governed by the correct doctrine of faith. He says here in brief, “If anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.” He means to say, “Be on your guard against everything that leads you to works; for it will deceive you and tear you away from Me.”

SL.XI.1879,25
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, protect us at all times against all false doctrine and misunderstandings which would modify our faith and trust in You alone and direct us to our own vain works and merits, for Your mercy and truth’s sake. Amen.

THE WEEK OF TRINITY XXV - MONDAY

LESSON: LUKE 19:41‒44

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are. 1 Corinthians 3:16‒17

When Christ ascended into heaven, He did not lock up His kingdom in the land of the Jews; He spread it out into the whole world through the Gospel which was preached and heard everywhere. But, like the Jews, we deny and persecute God’s Word and put to death the Christians who confess and preach it. The Romans were the first to do this, but their example has been continued by the pope, the bishops, princes, monks, and priests right up to our day. For five hundred years or more, no one was permitted to preach God’s Word without, at least for appearance sake, reciting the text of the Gospel from the pulpit. But these preachers mostly extracted the doctrine of men from these texts or dragged it into these texts. Whenever anyone raised objections to this, he was silenced with fire and sword.

Daniel’s word about the “desolating sacrilege” is certainly important also for us. This “desolating sacrilege” is the false doctrine current in the Church, that men must save themselves by performing all the works imposed on them by the Church and its hierarchy, and by falling in line with all the machinery that has been set up in the Church to force men into obedience to this “desolating sacrilege.”

The pure doctrine of the Word is the doctrine which we proclaim—that we are saved from sin, death, the devil, and all misfortune through Christ and established in God’s kingdom through the Word and faith.

Where this is preached and believed, Christ dwells and reigns in the hearts spiritually without means. There the Holy Spirit also dwells with all the blessings and fullness of God’s riches.

SL.XI.1875,17‒19
AE. 79:324-336

PRAYER: O Lord our God, You have warned us in no uncertain manner that false doctrine can be sacrilege. May we never fall into the sacrilege which sets aside the clear truth of Your Word and substitutes for it the doctrine of men, ending in spiritual sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen.