Pious Lutheran

  Jesus, setting a small boy in the midst of the disciples, said: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ” You, who have been adopted into God’s family through the waters of baptism, whether you are in the golden morn or silvery eve of life, you are God’s beloved children. God, your heavenly Father, sent His holy angels to guard you, His children. “ For I tell you that in heaven their [God’s children’s] angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ” My brothers and sisters, we are God’s children, Jesus Christ is our brother, and we are all one family in Him through the waters of baptism. When Christ was baptized, He sanctified all waters of baptism to be a lavish washing away of sin and an adoption into the holy family. You are God’s children. From the womb to the cradle to the grave, you’re God’s little children. Like t...

“ You cannot serve God and mammon. ” The first commandment teaches us what it means to worship or serve a god, namely, to fear, love, and trust in it above all things. What that fear, love, and trust looks like however is dependent upon which god you worship. The worship of mammon looks like worry and anxiety, while the worship of the true God looks like a confident trust that He cares for us. Rich or poor alike, mammon is a god that requires you to serve it by a constant and insidious worry and anxiety that you may lose it at any moment. Mammon is more than just money, it’s all of our worldly wealth, be it property, health, or prestige. Mammon is terribly flaky. In but an instant you can lose it, even without any fault of your own, and mammon abandons you.  Property can be taken or destroyed. Money can be lost at the drop of a dime. Health can turn to sickness by invisible threats. Family can forsake you because of one wrong word. Prestige can be turned to shame with a rumor. The ...

Last week we considered how Jesus is like the Good Samaritan, binding up injured sinners and caring for them, how He sets them within the hospital of the church. Today we continue to see how Jesus is like a good physician. Jesus makes sinners well and then sets them on their way. One day, “as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.” Without touching them, without doing anything strange, without even coming near them, Jesus healed these ten lepers. The only things that He did was come into their presence while journeying to Jerusalem and speak to them, commanding them to go to church. Then before they had even accomplished what He commanded, He had mercy upon them and healed them.  So it is with people like us. We too have been afflicted with a terrible leprosy, a leprosy...

  In an era devoid of the spiritual, the church of Christ now wanes, yet the church of science and medicine reigns. In this new church our Lord isn’t the Good Physician, but physicians are the lords. Pastors and scriptures are filled with myths and opinions, while doctors and medical journals are filled with facts and truths.  While hospitals are indeed a godly endeavor, as evidenced by today’s parable commanding us to show mercy and the fact that Christians started the first hospitals and funded and ran most of them up until the past century, there is still a greater need than the physical and a greater hospital than the ones filled with needles and beds. St. John Chrysostom preached, saying: “Enter into the church and wash away your sins. For there is a hospital for sinners.” And so, Christ is the Samaritan binding up half-dead sinners in this hospital of the church.  There is a greater malady in this life than can be treated with ordinary medicine. There is a sickness ...