Lectionary

Wednesday of Invocabit

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Our Savior Lutheran at Prayer

Mark 4:1-20

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables 10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ” 13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

In the name of the Father and the +Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. The seed is the Word of God. It is cast generously by our God in the soil of our heart. But we should be aware that the devil is ready to snatch away the Word from us. The world would have you believe that the devil isn’t that dangerous, that he doesn’t exist, that he is just trying to help, or some other lie to take you off his scent. The devil is real and he is dangerous. His goal is to snatch the Word of God out of your heart so that you do not believe. But we should be aware that all the enemies of God do not want this Word of God to succeed and therefore mount every attack of tribulation and persecution against you. But we should be aware that the world is using its pleasures and sinful sights to allure your sinful nature into the trap that is away from the Word so that you make for yourself other gods and depend on your emotions and feelings and pleasures instead. But most especially we should be aware that we have an active and powerful God that hears our prayers, that knows our tribulations, that has been tempted in every way like us, that has come down to deliver us, and has promised to always be with us. The enemies of God are real and they are attacking you. Your salvation is secure in this Jesus Christ—who traveled to the cross, suffered its scorn, received the punishment for your sin, destroyed the devil and death and the reign of sin, then rose again to live forever with you. He promises to hear your prayer, to be with you in Word preached and Sacraments given, and to return to gather you to himself and take you to heaven. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. In the name of +Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Steven Cholak, School Chaplain and Assistant Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

You may utilize the Order of Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families (pages 295-298) in Lutheran Service Book for your family prayers.

The Collect of the Week:

O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from those who rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for others:

For the pre-born, the weak, the sick, those in hospital, and those who cannot care for themselves;

For the shut-in and those recovering from surgery at home;

For those struggling with sin and those who are sick;

For those attacked by false teaching;

For our pastors (Pastor White, Pastor Krieg, and Pastor Cholak);

For pastors and congregations throughout the world as they begin the Lenten season;

For the teachers and administration at Our Savior Lutheran School;

For those who are students in college and university;

For the Christian training of the young, especially those who homeschool.

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Tuesday of Invocabit (Lent 1)

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Our Savior Lutheran at Prayer

February 28, AD 2023

Mark 3:20-30

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house. 28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

In the name of the Father and the +Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The work of the Holy Spirit is to create faith. He calls us with the Gospel and enlightens us with his gifts. He makes us holy and keeps us in the true faith. The Holy Spirit’s work is to bring you to Jesus. He is like Saint John the Baptist in that he wants to decrease or fade out of the lime light so that Jesus can shine. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to blaspheme the flow of faith—the route that faith comes to you. To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to cut off the very things that we need from heaven. But the Holy Spirit has given us the Strongest Man—Jesus. He is no match for the devil, the world, our sinful nature, or any other enemy. He binds up the devil and then plunders his house—casting out demons, rebuking fevers, returning sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, and most importantly, snatching you back from death and the grave so that he can have you to all eternity. He forgives your sins by dying on the cross and shedding his blood. These gifts, rescues from death and the devil, forgives sins, and gives eternal salvation, he brings to you via the Holy Spirit in preaching and Baptism and Absolution and the Lord’s Supper. No house divided here, only united in one Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God! In the name of +Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Steven Cholak, School Chaplain and Assistant Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

You may utilize the Order of Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families (pages 295-298) in Lutheran Service Book for your family prayers.

The Collect of the Week:

O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from those who rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for others:

For the pre-born, the weak, the sick, those in hospital, and those who cannot care for themselves;

For the shut-in and those recovering from surgery at home;

For those struggling with sin and those who are sick;

For those attacked by false teaching;

For our pastors (Pastor White, Pastor Krieg, and Pastor Cholak);

For pastors and congregations throughout the world as they begin the Lenten season;

For those who mourn;

For the Christian training of the young, especially at Our Savior Lutheran School.

Monday of Invocabit (Lent 1)

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Our Savior Lutheran at Prayer

February 27, AD 2023

Mark 3: 1-6

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

In the name of the Father and the +Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Incarnate Word of God comes to the places where the Inscripturated Word is proclaimed. It was Jesus custom to go to synagogue. He knows why the Sabbath was given. God gives rest for the souls of his people there. He heals and makes alive. He does it by the proclamation of his holy Word. Jesus is the One that gives rest for souls. His burden is light. The proclamation of the Word always accomplishes what it has been sent to do. Jesus enters the synagogue and immediately he is confronted with the Pharisees. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy—We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and his Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” The very purpose of the Sabbath is to do good. When the Lord God stopped creating all the things he created, he wanted his people to stop, too. He wanted them to stop so that they would receive his good Word and rest for their souls. But we turn the Lord’s day into a burden and we set up all kinds of obstacles for ourselves. Jesus comes into the midst of them and proclaims. He sets his Sacrament before us and just as he provides for our needs of this body and life, he also provides for our souls. He uses that very Word of God to call you to the Gospel. He enlightens you with his gifts and keeps you in the true faith. He puts his Holy Word into your ear and makes you holy. Thanks be to God that this Word proclaimed is the Word that endures forever. In the name of +Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Steven Cholak, School Chaplain and Assistant Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

You may utilize the Order of Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families (pages 295-298) in Lutheran Service Book for your family prayers.

The Collect of the Week:

O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer and stretch forth the right hand of Your majesty to defend us from those who rise up against us; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Prayer for others:

For the pre-born, the weak, the sick, those in hospital, and those who cannot care for themselves;

For the shut-in and those recovering from surgery at home;

For those struggling with sin and those who are sick;

For those attacked by false teaching;

For our pastors (Pastor White, Pastor Krieg, and Pastor Cholak);

For pastors and congregations throughout the world as they begin the Lenten season;

For those who mourn;

For the Christian training of the young, especially at Our Savior Lutheran School.

https://open.substack.com/pub/oslatprayer/p/monday-of-invocabit-lent-1?r=1lfpr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Friday after Ash Wednesday

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Our Savior Lutheran at Prayer

Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray…
February 24, AD 2023

Mark 1:29-39

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

In the name of the Father and the +Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The whole world is going out after him. He is healing the sick and casting out the demons. He is in their synagogue teaching and preaching. The people flock to him. We would have gone, too. They wanted more. They wanted to see more signs and wonders, but that is not why he comes. He comes to preach. He comes to proclaim. What is he proclaiming? He proclaims the good news of his cross. He proclaims that all the promises of salvation and the coming Messiah are fulfilled in him. He proclaims to you that the Law is fulfilled in him. They will all fall away. Crucifixion is not the sign they want to see. They’d rather see someone come down from the cross rather than go up on it. However, it is that very act, Jesus dying on the cross, that saves the world. It is Jesus paying the price for sin and rescuing from death and the devil that is the most important thing—for you! Thus, he keeps sending his Word to be preached to you. He keeps sending his Holy Spirit to call you with the Gospel of the Cross and to enlighten you with the gifts that were won there. In the name of +Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Steven Cholak, School Chaplain and Assistant Pastor, Our Savior Lutheran Church and School

You may utilize the Order of Daily Prayer for Individuals and Families (pages 295-298) in Lutheran Service Book for your family prayers.

The Collect of the Week:

Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may, like David before us, receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Prayer for others:

For the pre-born, the weak, the sick, those in hospital, and those who cannot care for themselves;

For the shut-in and those recovering from surgery at home;

For those struggling with sin and those who are sick;

For those undergoing surgery;

For our pastors (Pastor White, Pastor Krieg, and Pastor Cholak);

For pastors and congregations throughout the world as they begin the Lenten season;

For our Lenten journey to the cross;

For the Christian training of the young, especially at Our Savior Lutheran School.

Friday of Septuagesima

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray…

February 10, AD 2023

John 3:25-36

Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

In the name of the Father and the +Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. The best man is delighted to hear the voice of the groom. John the Baptist always confessed that he was not the Christ. He was the pointing prophet, “Look, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” He freely confessed to the religious establishment when they came to him in the wilderness at the Jordan, “I am not the Christ.” The same thing he does here. His work is complete as he prepared the way for the Lord. What was his goal? That all people would see the salvation of our God. Indeed, the Salvation of from our God has come. The Christ goes forth to fulfill the Father’s will. He is crucified for the sins of the world. Jesus tells us that when he is lifted up, he will draw all men to himself. He dies for all. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. You have been made a child of God. John’s joy is complete and soon ours will be, too. Thanks be to God for his Word among us. In the name of +Jesus. Amen.

https://open.substack.com/pub/oslatprayer/p/friday-of-septuagesima?r=1lfpr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Many are called

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife. At last, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. She will be called woman because she was taken out of man. And the two shall become one flesh. Each wedding was an extravagant event. A suitable, perfect, wonderful helper was found for Adam, and likewise the perfect helpmeet for each husband [for you]: to show the world the love of Christ for his bride the Church. The day God gave Eve to her husband rocked the newly formed cosmos. He changed his creating pattern, got his fingers in the dirt, and even moved flesh and blood so that Adam would have a wife to die for. Every marriage is a mystery, but I’m talking about Christ and his Church. Your marriage, my marriage, Adam and Eve’s marriage, defined by a better, more perfect, most perfect union: Christ for his bride the Church.

But we have made it into a burden. Whether a mere annoyance to our calendar or a conflict that harbors hate and anger, we have degraded, misused, and discounted this gift, this extravagant and lavish gift. But this gift is a lens by which we see Jesus and his love. This gift is what defines who the church is…Your marriage does not define marriage. Likewise, the state or the opinions of men and women cannot and do not define what marriage is. No court or judge can define what was established at the cross of Jesus as some blanket civil union between the emotions of two people—regardless of who they are. Call it what they will, the facts remain. The marriage of Christ to his bride, the Church, is what defines marriage. Today we see into that wedding. Today we see that not only our own marriages are defined by Jesus’ marriage to the Church, but our faith—our Christian life—is defined by this Jesus by virtue of his death and resurrection, which is of course his marriage to the church.

[We have made Christianity into a burden. Jesus says, “If any man would follow me, let him deny himself, pickup his cross and follow me.” We must lose our life in order to find it because if we hold on to our life, our selfishness, if we try to make a name for ourselves, we will lose ourselves to the outer darkness. The world would have you believe that you have a unique identity by yourself, by virtue of yourself. But your baptism changed that. Your identity is not of yourself, but of Jesus. Your identity is of the Church, of absolution, of self-sacrifice, of denying yourself.]

The school children often ask what heaven will be like. Today, Jesus gives us an answer. The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a King who gave a wedding feast for his Son. Not a wedding feast like your wedding or my wedding. This kind of wedding feast was not a short event, a day or evening alone event. A wedding feast was an event that required lodging, clothing, food, drink, entertainment. It was days long…it was extravagant. And the wedding feast prepared by this King would have just been over the top. When it’s all set and ready to go, the King sends out the servants to find those invited and escort them in. The Word goes out. This is the preaching of the Gospel. In the Garden, from above the waters of the Flood, from the mountains of Moriah, from the burning bush, the midst of the Red Sea, from Canaan, and Israel, Judah, Babylon, and Bethlehem. From Corinth, Rome, and Spain, India, and Asia…Africa, Europe, America…the four corners of the world. And even to the midst of New Mexico. From the mouths of apostles, evangelists, and pastors everywhere, the Word goes out.

But there are excuses. They pay no attention to this great gift, this extraordinary invitation. You didn’t have to pay for anything! The King wants his people in his presence and he’s stopped at no expense to take care of his guests. [It is a testament to his character, his very identity. This Father has given us our body and souls, our reason and senses, he gives us our eyes, ears, and all our members and still takes care of them, wife, land, animals, and all we have. Only out of his Fatherly divine goodness and mercy.] And instead of running to hop on the carriage—the people invited seize his servants, treat them shamefully, and kill them. Anger rules in our hearts. Selfish desires have us wrapped up so tight that we even think of the Gospel and the heavenly gifts as hostile to us. We think our own way and our own plans are just as good or better than the King’s. We are proud of our own dirt and our own sin and even the fig leaves we have tied together as our clothing.

This is not some text to shame us into coming to church on Sunday and to make you feel bad about missing church on a given week. No, this is a text to show us that we have forsaken God and his gifts.

But the King will not have an empty wedding hall. Compel them to come in. I will clothe them and feed them and they shall be my people. It isn’t some decision in your heart. You didn’t cause the others to forsake the invitation. You were just walking the main roads. The servants found you minding your own business. They invited you to something out of the world. It sounds too good to be true, but it is true. It’s a wedding feast that has no end. The King will take care of you forever. There will be no need to fear anything. The Son of the King has married a wife. She is without spot or blemish. The King will attend to your every need. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live!

The stops on Sunday morning are tastes of the feast that has no end. When the Church worships, it is the Bride of Christ gathered together. The little pieces of the whole, the members of the Body together with the Head. You’ve heard it called a foretaste of the feast to come. You’ve never tasted anything like this. But there is the temptation to say you don’t need to taste. The devil, the world, or maybe your own heart will say you’re okay another week. Perhaps you’ve been used to making it. Maybe you have your own business, your own plan. For the King, he bids you come. He says, they are weak, my Son is strong. They need to eat. My Son leads them to the green pastures of his body and his blood. The Hall won’t be empty. He compels you. Come, eat! Come, drink!

And just as he did in the Garden so long ago, he still does. He walks in the midst of you. He looks as his guests. He brings his Word right up to you. Even here, he brings his Law and Gospel: to show you your sin and to give you your Savior (the BrideGroom). It was necessary that he clothe you. Like Adam and Eve, the fig leaves we have used to cover our shame—whatever you have conjured up to cover your sin and guilt, won’t do. He must kill the Lamb and use his righteousness to cover you. No one can gather in the presence of the King if the King doesn’t first clothe him. In the waters of baptism, he does just that. He wraps you in the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus, too. Having been wrapped in Jesus’ clothing, the King delights in his Son and in you. He delights with you.

A suitable, perfect, wonderful bride was formed for Jesus. She was created as his hands were nailed to a tree. And so the man has left his Father and has been joined to his bride. She has been taken out of him. By virtue of the Water of Baptism and the Blood of the Sacrament she is joined to him—bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. They are no longer two, but one. He sustains her. He keeps her in safety. He feeds and nourishes her. He gives his everything to have her. Jesus dying on the cross is the definition of marriage. His resurrection is the bride’s life: your life. The day Jesus died on the cross, the cosmos was rocked to its very core. He created by dying. He sustained her by giving up himself to take her to himself. You are the Eve he died for and now he lives to give you forgiveness and life with him.

Come, for all things are now ready. The King has prepared the dinner, the Lamb has been slaughtered, and now he lives again. Come, all you who thirst and are hungry. Come to the waters and to the Lamb. Eat and Drink. Come to the wedding feast. Christ will transform you. You are his beloved.

Ephphatha

/ Rev. Steven Cholak

Jesus healing the Deaf Man by Richard Caemmerer

Jesus healing the Deaf Man by Richard Caemmerer

Jesus takes the Deaf man aside (away from the crowd)… There he can speak to the man without distraction.  That’s seems to be one of our biggest weak points: distractions.  The Deaf man was no different and you are no different either.  Jesus takes us in our poor miserable sinfulness and pulls us out of our distractions and out of our silence.

He speaks to us.

He speaks words that we understand.  He speaks our language.  He speaks a Word that gets through all our man made garbage and sinks into the heart.  For it’s what comes from the heart that is the tell tale of a man.  Of our own doing it’s always a mess… but when Jesus rips out the weeds, tills the soil, cultivates and waters there…it’s of a new Spirit.

Away from the crowd, Jesus signs to the Deaf man to let him know what is about to change and what is the object of his performative Word: fingers in the ear, touching his tongue… spitting, sighing… and then what he always does… Jesus speaks a commanding and creating Word, “Ephphatha!”  The Deaf man hears.  Sinners are forgiven.  The dead live.  God’s wrath is taken away.

A moment alone with God: the Deaf man away from the crowd or you hovering with the Spirit above the font of your baptism.  You’re there because God is calling you out of your distracted and sinful life.  He has you there, to push you under the water, to push you away from your death… and to give you Christ’s life.  He has you there only for a moment. Jesus has you there in order to graft you into the crowd that is his Church.  And that’s exactly what he does: baptized you are no longer alone, no longer damned, no longer caught in the devil’s distractions, no longer separated from God.

Be open ears: to hear the Word of God.  Be open chest: to have your heart of sin and death removed.  Be open mouth: to be filled by God to declare His praise.  The God-man, Jesus, was separated from his Father on the cross so that you could be brought to the midst of the Church, near to the Son, alive in the resurrection.  Ephphatha!  Jesus has done all things well.  He even makes the Deaf hear, the mute speak, and the sinner forgiven.