Thursday after Epiphany 4
February 7, 2013
The Lord be with you
This coming Sunday is the Transfiguration of our Lord.,
which is always the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany. It will also be
February 10, which is the Commemoration of Silas, Fellow Worker of St. Peter
and St. Paul. We will be using Divine
Service 1 (page 151) for our liturgy. This is a “cathedral” service, which is a
“liturgically correct” way of saying we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
To prepare for the reception of Communion you may read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
and Psalm 86.
The appointed lessons for Sunday are Deuteronomy 34:1-12,
Hebrews 3:1-6, and Luke 9:28-36. The opening hymn is “Swiftly Pass the Clouds
of Glory” (LSB 416). The sermon hymn
is “‘Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here” (LSB
414). The closing hymn is “Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing” (LSB 924). The distribution hymns are “I
Come, O Savior, to Thy Table” (LSB
617), “By All Your Saints in Warfare” (LSB
517:1,4,3), and “For Me to Live Is Jesus” (LSB
742).
“By All Your Saints” was selected in honor of Silas. He will
also be remembered in our prayers with the appropriate collect. There are only
five “Transfiguration” hymns in the hymnal, and we know only two of them. As
this is Transfiguration Sunday, both of the Transfiguration hymns we know (414,
416) will be sung. “Lord, Dismiss Us” is a traditional and well-known end of
worship hymn. “I Come, O Savior” is a traditional and well-known communion
hymn. The final distribution hymn is “For Me to Live Is Jesus.” This hymn comes
from the “Hope and Comfort” section of the hymnal, something the Lord’s Supper
certainly provides us.
In our prayers Sunday we will remember American citizen and
Christian Pastor, Saeed Abedini, unjustly sentenced to 8 years in prison in Iran.
We will remember the persecuted believers in Colombia.
We will pray for the Lutheran Church
in Korea and
their president, Dr. Hyun Sub Um. We will remember missionaries Jack and Cathy
Carlos, who are working with the Maninka people in Guinea West. We will continue to
remember those who have been mislead by our cultures advocacy of sexual
immorality and abortion, asking for healing in the lives damaged by these sins
and those who are trapped in modern-day slavery (often now called Human
Trafficking). We will remember our sister congregations: Holy Cross, Clayton,
NC; Our Savior, Clyde, NC; Grace & St. Peter’s, Concord, NC; Holy Trinity,
Columbia, SC
Below is a video of our opening hymn, “Swiftly Pass the
Clouds of Glory.” It is sung by the Lutheran Warbler.
Our adult Sunday school class will continue the study “together with all creatures: caring for
God’s living earth.” This is an excellent and biblical examination of
ecological issues. Quite obviously, this will have real implications about how
we live on the earth. Class begins at 9:00 am. Everyone is welcome to
join in the discussion.
Preview of Lessons
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
This reading records the death of Moses. One minor point
this reading brings out is that Moses didn’t write everything in the first five
books of the Bible. Certainly at least verses 5 through 12 are from someone
else’s hand. This in no way means there are uninspired portions of the first
five books, for God inspired many people in the writing of His word, and we do
not know all of them (for example 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2
Chronicles). Moses, the faithful servant of God, ascends Mount
Nebo. There the Lord shows him the
Promised Land by means of some kind of vision. He then dies and the Lord
himself buries Moses. Joshua, who has been Moses’ right-hand man for forty
years, takes the reigns. It is Joshua, not Moses, who will lead the people into
the Promised Land. Isn’t it interesting that Moses doesn’t enter the Promised
Land until the Transfiguration of our Lord. Jesus leads Moses into the Promised
Land. The name “Joshua” is the Hebrew form of the Greek name “Jesus.” “Jesus”
has always been the One that leads people into the Promised Land.
Hebrews 3:1-6
The writer of Hebrews (this is another book in the Bible
whose author is unknown) compares Moses and Jesus. While Moses was faithful as
a servant, Jesus was faithful as a Son. While Moses was great, Jesus is the
greatest. We are called to hold on the greatest gift God has given humanity,
Christ Jesus.
Luke 9:28-36
No surprise, this is one of the accounts of the
Transfiguration. Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, ascend a mountain.
There the disciples see Jesus transfigured. Appearing with him are Moses and
Elijah, two giants from the Old Testament. They are discussing Jesus’ upcoming
“departure,” i.e., his death. As the conversation is ending and the two Old
Testaments saints are departing, Peter speaks up, hoping to extend the heavenly
visit. Then the Father speaks, identifying Jesus as his Son and telling Peter
(and us) to listen to Jesus. Abruptly, Luke says Jesus “was found alone” and
that the disciples kept quite about what happened. Interesting aspects of
Luke’s account include the dating. Luke says
“about eight days.” We know
from the other Gospels that it was actually 6 days. Luke clearly wants to use
the number eight and so says “about.” Eight might refer to the new creation
(creation week “starts over” on the eighth day). The transfiguration of Jesus,
along with the glorified Moses and Elijah, gives us a peek at our future in the
new creation. It might have salvation overtones, for eight people were saved in
the Ark and Jesus rose on the
eighth day, and the topic of conversation of Jesus’ atoning death. Another
interesting aspect of the text is the word translated “departure.” It is the
word “exodus.” At the very least, it is a nod to Moses. Probably we are to
think that, just as the OT Exodus was the great shaping event for the OT people
of God, so this new and greater “Exodus” of Jesus will be the greatest shaping
event for the NT people of God. As God once created a people, he is now
creating a new people, a new nation, a new Israel.
Moses is great but Jesus is the greatest.
Lectionary Synopsis
The Glory of God Is Manifested in the Body of Christ
“Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a
servant,” but Christ Jesus “has been counted worthy of more glory than
Moses” (Heb. 3:3, 5). A beloved and well-pleasing Son, faithful even
to the point of death, Jesus’ own body was raised up on the third day as the
house of God, and He has brought us into that house through the waters of Holy
Baptism (Heb. 3:6). Thus, it was not Moses the lawgiver, but his successor,
Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus), who led the people into the promised land
(Deut. 34:1–4, 9). Now, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the New Testament
Joshua appears in the glory that He is about to manifest by His “departure”
(exodus) in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Having entered the waters of the Jordan
in His Baptism, He passed through those waters and entered into glory by His
Cross and Passion. What He thereby accomplished in His own flesh and blood,
crucified and risen, He reveals and gives to His Body, the Church, by the means
of His Word. Therefore, the Father declares from heaven, “Listen to Him!”
(Luke 9:35).
Tidbits
The Board of
Evangelism will have a Lunch meeting Sunday.
Our Stations of the
Cross have been posted. They will remain up throughout Lent.
Lent begins this
coming Wednesday, February 13, with our Ash
Wednesday services. Worship services
will be at 12:15 and 7:00 pm.
The “noon” service lasts about half
an hour and we sing only one hymn. The evening service lasts about 45 minutes
and we sing three songs and we use a sung liturgy. Both services will be a little longer on Ash Wednesday. The evening service is
preceded by our Soup Supper (6:15). Choir
practice begins following the evening service.
Beginning Ash Wednesday, the Lutheran Hour Ministries daily Lenten devotions will be posted on this
blog. The Lutheran Hour actually will send daily devotions to your e-mail
if you ask them. This will give you a chance to examine the quality of their
devotions.For more information see the post I put up earlier this week.
Well, I pray I’ll see you Sunday.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
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