Pentecost 15

September 6 - 12

2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ephesians, Philippians

On a mountain east of Jerusalem, beyond the resplendent temple Solomon has dedicated to the LORD, construction crews begin building new houses of worship. These are not for the LORD, but for false gods from surrounding regions. Solomon’s many wives, who worship them, are leading his heart astray, and he seems to be willing to follow. It is a far cry from the prayers of repentance and praise he offered to the true God at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. The next generation of Israelite royalty fares no better, dividing the kingdom and shutting out the LORD’s prophets.

The same impulse emerges among the Christians in Corinth, whose warm endorsement of sexually immoral behavior and false teaching is sharply constrasted by their chilly relationship with St. Paul. He pleads with them to open their hearts to the Gospel as widely as he has opened his heart to them by preaching it, even if it grieves them to do so.

Ignorning the unimpressive jars of clay that say otherwise, the wandering heart believes it is free to follow idols, to pursue its own glory, and to demand acceptance of its most sinister desires. But it is an imaginary freedom. In reality, it is bound to sin.

Instead, St. Paul tells the Corinthians that where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom – freedom from certain death and condemnation. The death and resurrection of Jesus transforms our hearts from the passing glory of this world to the perfect, everlasting glory found only in Jesus Christ. The old things are put away and the new are put on. The transformed heart, bound to Christ, opens wider with his Gospel. May our hearts, moved by the Spirit, be bold in service and obedience to our Lord, however he leads us.

Pentecost 16

September 13 - 19

2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Colossians

After years of silence, the ruins of Jerusalem’s temple mount now echo with the sound of tools and the voices of workmen. To the dismay of the locals, a crew of Jews has arrived to rebuild what the king had once destroyed. As the walls rise, so does the tension. Nehemiah has permission from the king to rebuild the LORD’s house, but he must protect his construction site with guards and arm his workers. With their tools in one hand and weapons in the other, their service to the LORD is both exhilharating and terrifying.

The church in Colossi knows this difficulty. Even though they have returned from the exile of unbelief, false teachers have encircled them with dangerous teachings. The Colossians, too, must defend the house of the Lord while laboring to build it.

But the foundation is Christ, and it is Christ who empowers his people in the struggle. “Him we proclaim,” St. Paul says. “For this I toil, struggling with all his working that is at work within me.”

God is at work within us, too. In baptism, we have been sealed as his own. In his Word, we are comforted, encouraged, and strengthened. But our service to God often seems anything but certain. In this life, the world is less than pleased with the work of the church, and as long as we labor for the Lord, the threats, taunts, and accusations continue.

So we follow Paul’s admonitions. We strive to walk in Christ, and not in the world. We pray, constantly and sincerely, for our own preservation, for our spiritual leaders, and for each other. We labor on and build together. We do this in full anticipation of the glorious new temple, the one Jesus is preparing for us, the one that will never be rebuilt, where the jeers and taunts are gone forever, and the sound of perfect praise in the LORD’s presence endures.