Friday after the Feast of Pentecost
May 29, 2015
The Lord be with you.
This coming Sunday celebrates the Feast of the Visitation
and the Festival of the Holy Trinity. Both are major days in the Church Year
and both would normally supplant the regular Sunday readings with their own.
The “Visitation” is the celebration of when the virgin Mary visited her
relative Elizabeth, who was pregnant with her own “miracle” baby, John the
Baptist. When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the child in her womb leapt, prompting
Elizabeth to proclaim. “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should
come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the
baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there
would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” Mary responded
with what is now called the Magnificat. (This all happens in Luke 1.) This
Feast always falls on May 31.
The Festival of the Holy Trinity is somewhat an oddity among
the feasts and festivals as it does not commemorate an individual or an event.
Instead it recognizes how God has revealed himself to us, that is, as Triune. This
Sunday was introduced in the Middle-Ages when much of Europe was occupied by
Muslims (to be exact, the Iberian Peninsula where the modern state of Spain is),
having conquered it in the 700s. The influence of these invaders caused muddied
thinking concerning the Deity in neighboring Christian countries. So the Pope
declared Trinity Sunday as a means to keep the people informed concerning this
important revelation. As Trinity Sunday is always the first Sunday following
Pentecost, the date moves from year to year.
Now if we were going to be super strict to our liturgical
calendar, Feasts are given preference to Festivals, so we would be celebrating
the Feast of the Visitation instead of the Festival of the Holy Trinity.
However, I personally feel that the Triune nature of God is still under attack,
at least in the USA, with many feeling it doesn’t matter what you believe as
long as you are sincere. So we will be celebrating the Festival of the Holy
Trinity and the Visitation will be recalled in our prayers.
For our liturgy we will be using Divine I (page 151) with
the following modifications. First, for our Hymn of Praise we will be substituting
LSB 933, “My Soul Rejoices”. This well-known hymn is based on the
Magnificat and we are using it in recognition of the Visitation, when Mary
first sang the Magnificat. The next modification will be the use of the
Athanasian Creed (page 319) instead of the Nicene Creed. We use this longer
creed only once a year, on Trinity Sunday. It has the best “short” explanation
of the Trinity of which I know.
Our opening hymn will also be honoring the Visitation. We
will sing “For All the Faithful Women” LSB 855. While we have sung this
hymn many times over the years, I wouldn’t yet call it a favorite, It is one of
those hymns that can be used at most any commemoration or festival that has a
strong female presence. As such, you are intended to sing only the appropriate
verses. We will sing verse one, then verse eight, and conclude with verses
three and four. The sermon hymn reflects Trinity Sunday. It is “Father Most
Holy” (LSB 504). Our first distribution hymn also reflects Trinity
Sunday. It is the well-loved “Holy, Holy, Holy” (LSB 507). The second
distribution hymn reflects the Lord’s Supper. It is “Eat This Bread” (LSB
638). Our third distribution hymn turns our focus to Jesus. In reality, all our
feasts and festivals are about Jesus. For example, the Visitation is about the
pre-born Jesus visiting Elizabeth and the pre-born John. We then have the
response of John, Elizabeth and Mary to Jesus. The hymn allows us to join those
saints of old in praising our Lord. It is “Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” (LSB
528). Our closing hymn returns again to the Holy Trinity theme with “Glory Be
to God the Father” (LSB 506). With the exception of our first hymn, I’d
say all the tunes are very well known.
This Sunday concludes the “festival half” of the Church
Year. This is the half that has all the big holidays like Christmas, Easter and
Pentecost. While the paraments for this Sunday are white, we will then change
them to green, reflecting the “Church” half of the liturgical year and it’s
accent on our growth in the Christian Faith.
Sunday’s scripture readings will be Isaiah 6:1-8; Acts
2:14a, 22-36; and John 3:1-17. The sermon text will be John 3:16. The sermon is
titled “Contact.”
Below is a video of our sermon hymn, is “Father Most Holy”
(LSB 504).
It is being sung by “the Lutheran Warbler.”
What follows is a synopsis of Sunday’s lessons, provided by
the synod, then the lessons and finally some additional notes
The Glory of
the Lord of Hosts Shines in Mercy, Forgiveness, and Salvation
When Isaiah “saw the Lord sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up,” he cried out and confessed that he was
“a man of unclean lips.” If even the holy angels cover their faces in
the presence of “the King, the Lord of hosts,” how can sinful humans
stand before Him? (Is. 6:1–5) Yet, the glory of the Lord is saving grace, and
with “a burning coal” from the altar the angel touched Isaiah’s lips,
removing his guilt (Is. 6:6–7). Likewise, from the altar of Christ’s Cross, by
the ministry of the Gospel, “the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is
6:3). For He was crucified, died and was buried, “according to the definite
plan and foreknowledge of God,” and God “raised Him up, loosing the
pangs of death” (Acts 2:23–24). He “received from the Father the promise
of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:32) and He raises up the fallen world by
pouring out His life-giving Spirit upon sinners through His earthly means of
grace. To give this saving Gift God sent His Son into the world, “that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16–17).
Isaiah 6:1-8
6:1 In
the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him
stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with
two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to
another and said:
“Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole
earth is full of his glory!”
4 And
the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the
house was filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost;
for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord
of hosts!”
6 Then
one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had
taken with tongs from the altar. 7And he touched my mouth and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin
atoned for.”
8 And
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Acts 2:14a, 22-36
14a But
Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: …
22 “Men
of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God
with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst,
as you yourselves know—23this Jesus, delivered up according to the
definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands
of lawless men. 24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death,
because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25For David
says concerning him,
“‘I saw the
Lord always before me,
for
he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore
my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my
flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For
you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or
let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You
have made known to me the paths of life;
you
will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers,
I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died
and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30Being
therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he
would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31he foresaw and
spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades,
nor did his flesh see corruption. 32This Jesus God raised up, and of
that we all are witnesses. 33Being therefore exalted at the right
hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34For
David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord
said to my Lord,
“Sit at my
right hand,
35 until
I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Let
all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both
Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
John 3:1-17
3:1 Now
there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2This
man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a
teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is
with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless
one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said
to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into
his mother's womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not marvel that I said to
you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows where it wishes, and
you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus
said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are
you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11Truly,
truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have
seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you
earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you
heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except he who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.a 14And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be
saved through him.
a Some manuscripts omit “who is in heaven.”
Some Additional Notes
- Information for the June newsletter will be available Sunday
- Our Sunday morning Bible hour begins at 9:00 am. We continue our examination of the biblical teachings concerning Vocation.
- Walking our neighborhoods and meeting our neighbors is off and walking. Remember to record your miles each week on the bulletin board in the hallway. Our collective goal - 2,015 miles in 2015.
- Remember, we have pledged to pray for our neighbors. You can get a list of your 100 your closest neighbors from pray4everyhome.com. If you have no internet access, speak with Rachel Swain or Kitty Rickert and they will sign you up and get you a list.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Rickert
SED Presidents
