Pentecost 5

July 13 - 19

Judges, 1 Samuel, Galatian, Acts

The once mighty Samson, now blind and weak, slouches in his shackles between two stone pillars. His Phillistine captors subject him to great tests of strength, erupting in laughter and taunts when he inevitably fails. It is a grotesque celebration in honor of a false god, and it looks like a humiliating end for the man who had been set apart to save Israel from the Phillistines. In this seemingly hopeless moment, Samson prays to the true God to regain his strength, just this once, to save his people.

“Just this once” is an easy way to justify sin, too, though we love to use that phrase many times. It is also an ironic display of weakness. Our bold in insistence that the sin is okay this one time is really only a thin cover-up of our submission to the chains. Bound tightly to sin, there would appear to be no escape.

The good news: “just this once” also describes our salvation: Jesus pulled down the heavy stones of sin upon himself to destroy death, and rise again, one time, for all people. One baptism buries our sinful flesh and raises up a new person in service to God.

Still, on this side of heaven, the flesh and Spirit militate against one another. St. Paul’s astonishment at the Galatians’ straying faith is characteristic of us, too. It may seem easy to go back to our old, doomed spiritual ways. But our echo of Samson’s prayer for strength against sin is true and effective. Even if that prayer is our last, we can make it boldly, just one time, confident in the redemption won for us in Jesus.

Pentecost 4

July 6 - 12

Joshua, Judges, Acts, Galatians

What kind of god do you serve? Some serve themselves, others the greater good. Some serve many gods, others just one – and even among the monotheists, there is little agreement about what the term God even means.

In this week’s readings, Joshua asks a similar question of the Isrealites, though in a much more forceful manner. It should be obvious that the LORD, the one true God, who has delivered them time and again, is the one they will serve. But they repeatedly slip into idolatry, drawn away to the false gods among the neighboring peoples.

In the New Testament, there are many who have a hard time reocgnizing the true God in the Gospel preached to them. The Jewish leaders deem it blasphemy, stone Paul, and leave him for dead. The Greeks, on the other hand, are prepared to worship him as a god in the flesh. Some receive it fully with joy, while others insist Mosaic law still applies, dividing the church over the practice of circumcision.

We have the same idolatrous impulse to impose our own conditions on the Gospel. We want Jesus, but only if he can lead us to earthly success, wealth, or happiness. We want Jesus, but only if he gives us a law we can abide by and earn God’s favor with. We want Jesus, but only if we can follow him symbolically and merge him with spiritualistic ideas that are appealing to us. But we are not at the heart of the Gospel; Jesus is.

This is why Paul extends Joshua’s question of whom to serve by asking whose approval he is seeking. If it’s human validation, it can’t be the Gospel of Jesus Christ because Jesus’ work for us is at the heart of the true Gospel, not us. The more closely we look into his Word, where that Gospel is found, the more obvious it should be who the true God really is.

So, choose today whom you will serve. Choose the one who has chosen you. Commit yourself to the study of his Word and faithfully partake of his sacraments for your life and salvation. The benefit is eternal.