Reflections Higher Things

June 20, 2024 

Today's Reading: Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism 2
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:22-23:12; John 18:15-40

It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. - Dr. Luther, SC, Baptism 2, Question 1
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. What benefits does Baptism give? Baptism now saves you… (1 Peter 3:21) and in it, you are united to Christ’s life-giving death and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-4) If you ever need assurance of your salvation, that your sins are forgiven, that you are God’s child, and the devil has no claim on you, then turn to the words from God Himself. It is in His words and promises that God reveals to you how much you mean to Him.

Baptism defines your life as a Christian. It is not a starting point but the daily reality of your Christian identity. In the waters of your Baptism, the death of your life to sin and your new life united to Christ are present. This paradox of being simultaneously sinner and saint begins. But the comfort of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation with the words and promises of God joined to the water is the daily reminder as we get up each day and wrestle against our old Adam.

The words and promises of God in the last chapter of Mark are of great comfort, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) This is not meant to cause you to speculate on your faith and worry about you and your place in your salvation. Rather, it is to drive you to Christ, your savior, the One who your forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are founded in. He has rescued you from death and the devil and gives to you His child eternal salvation as the words and promises of God declare.

Rejoice in your Baptism, and remember daily that you are a baptized child of God. There is no more peaceful, grander reality than this. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

O Christian, firmly hold this gift And give God thanks forever! It gives the power to uplift In all that you endeavor. When nothing else revives your soul, Your Baptism stands and makes you whole And then in death completes you. ( LSB 596, 5)
- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, IN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.
A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 

June 19, 2024 

Today's Reading: John 18:1-14
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 22:1-21; John 18:1-14

So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:1-14)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. They were afraid, yet he addressed them calmly. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” These men led by Judas to come and arrest Jesus of Nazareth came armed with torches, lanterns, and weapons. The disciples were afraid. Their beloved teacher, the One whom Peter confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God, would soon be taken away from them, and they would be scattered, just as Jesus said they would.

So Peter goes down fighting, lopping off the ear of a servant, and then with all of his brother disciples, they high tail it off to where they can safely watch the Lamb of God be led to Golgotha to take away the sin of the world.

They were afraid. Yet the One who knew all that would happen to Him goes willingly. The sham of a trial, the mockery and beatings He would endure. The rejection and ridicule by His own people. Yet He endured it all for you. The cup that the Father had given Jesus would be consumed by Him. To Peter and Pilate’s shock, it would not be kept away by force. Jesus would usher in the fullness of time and the kingdom of His Father. This is exactly what God had promised, yes, at the Garden of Eden after the Fall, but also from the beginning. 

The Word that through all things were created would be put to death. Yet by His death, eternal life is secured for all who believe. Through the ugliness of the cross on Good Friday, the serpent's head is crushed, death is swallowed up forever, and you and I are met with the welcoming hands of our crucified and risen savior. Doubts and fears may discourage us in this life, but know that Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God, has come to put your fear at ease. He suffered for you, died for you, and rose for you so that you might take on all uncertainty in this life with the peace that He freely gives. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
He died that we might die to sin And live for righteousness; The earth is stained to make us cleanAnd bring us into peace. For peace He came and met its cost; He gave Himself to save the lost; He loved us to the uttermost And paid for our release. (LSB 432, 2)
- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, IN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.
A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.

June 18, 2024

Today's Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 20:5-25; Proverbs 21:1-31; John 17:1-26

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We groan through the daily grind of our earthly lives. This tent that Paul speaks of, our bodies, gives us constant reminders of how fragile and temporal we are. The effects of sin on us and creation take its toll. If not like Paul through the bodily harm and threats from persecution, we see this long term through the aging and frailty of our own bodies.

We do not suffer this as those who are unprepared or found naked, as Paul says. We, the baptized, are united to Christ Himself and made new creations. As we grapple with the suffering and times of despair in our earthly lives, we remember that we are in this tent of our bodies for a time. That’s not to say that we will leave our bodies for a spiritual reality, but that God Himself has prepared a body for you clothed in the glory and righteousness that is bestowed upon you in Christ Jesus.

Even though we may see pain, injury, and ultimately death, we do not despair as the world does. We have the daily reality of our Baptisms to fall back on. In your Baptism, you were united to Christ’s death and resurrection. United to Jesus, you give thanks for the days here in our earthly tents, so to speak, but rejoice that all has been prepared, and when our mortal bodies meet death, they will be swallowed up with life.

On the Last Day, we and believers of every tribe and nation will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. As the Lamb ushers in the end of time and reigns from His throne, the old tent will pass away, and life in eternity with our God will be the reality. Come, Lord Jesus. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All who believe and are baptized Shall see the Lord’s salvation; Baptized into the death of Christ, They are a new creation. Through Christ’s redemption they shall stand Among the glorious, heav’nly band Of ev’ry tribe and nation. (LSB 601, 1)
- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, IN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.
A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 

June 17, 2024 

Today's Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 17:1-28; Proverbs 18:1-20:4; John 16:17-33

“And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (Ezekiel 17:24)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The kingdom of Israel, by this time, has been hauled away to Assyria. The kingdom of Judah, which remains, is struggling to prop itself up. Corruption and idolatry are where God’s chosen people have placed their trust. Yet the word of the Lord still comes to them through the prophet Ezekiel. These verses are taken from the ending of God’s parable of the eagle and a vine. The line of David had continued just as God had promised, but those who had taken the scepter generation after generation looked after their own interests.

The Davidic line, by all measurements of success, had failed. Judah and her kings chased false gods rather than the God who preserved them. The God who stayed the Babylonian conquest for Hezekiah would no longer hold them back. The king and his princes, the people of Judah, will be hauled off to Babylon. This wicked generation will never see the land God gave to them again.

There is hope, though. While God certainly punishes sin and the wickedness of His people, He remembers those who hold on to His word and promises. We all struggle with sin and feel lost in a world that tosses us around with the winds of desire. When you feel lost, cling to the One who brings the high trees of the world, the Babylons and great empires, to take the low trees, the faithful remnant high. You have the assurance that the faithful in Judah had through Ezekiel, the one who proclaimed it to them. “I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.” (17:24)

God does conquer the sin, the anxiety, and the fear of this life for you, not through political wheeling and dealing, not through chasing idols to earn worldly security. God takes all the sin, fear, and anxiety of us who struggle against our sinful flesh- He takes it upon Himself in His Son Jesus. He doesn’t take it and give you a list of how to make things right. Jesus takes your sin, covers it in His blood, and swallows it up in His death. Christ’s life of His resurrection is your life. God has spoken by the prophets and done it through Jesus His Son. Fear not; cling to the words and promises of God as they are given to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Christ, the shoot that springs triumphant From the stump of Jesse’s tree; Christ, true vine, You nurture branches To bear fruit abundantly. Graft us into You, O Savior; Prune our hearts so we remain Fruitful branches in Your vineyard Till eternal life we gain. (LSB 540, 3)
- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, IN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing. 

June 16, 2024

Today's Reading: Mark 4:26-34
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 16:1-24; John 16:1-16

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.” (Mark 4:26)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jesus spoke to them in parables. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (4:34) Why did the crowd not get the full picture? What set the disciples apart? Let alone what does the kingdom of God have to do with scattering seeds or a tiny mustard seed?

Jesus spoke to them in parables. The crowd was missing the point because they weren’t looking in the right place. Jesus was not telling them these parables because he wanted to make them think about the world or become the next great rabbi for them to follow. No, Jesus, even in the parables, cuts right to the image of the coming of the kingdom and the harvest at the end of the age.

The sower sows the seed of the Word of God. From that point on, the sower can care for that seed. How that word convicts or grabs a man’s conscience is not his doing but God’s. Jesus spoke to them in parables because it is through simple words that God is active. 

Jesus spoke to them in parables so that those with even a mustard seed’s size of faith would hear these words from the Word of God made flesh itself and believe. That those words would take root, that God would grow that seed, care for it, and guide that person through their daily life to the harvest.

God does this still today for those with great and little faith. God Himself is the worker and author of faith through the preaching of His Gospel and proclamation of forgiveness of sins. God desires not that man would stand far off trying to discern how to reach God, but that man would hear the words of life from Jesus, drown their sinful flesh, die in the life-giving waters of Baptism, and receive the life-giving meal of Jesus’s Body and Blood under the simple means of bread and wine.

Jesus spoke to them in parables just as the Word itself was veiled in flesh so that those who believe would see God’s salvation for you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
- Vicar Justin Chester, Vicar at Shepherd of the City, Fort Wayne, IN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing.

June 15, 2024 

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 4 - Psalm 92:12-15; antiphon: Psalm 92:1
Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 15:1-29; John 15:12-27

To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:15 
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We have this predicament where the people we feel most comfortable taking shelter with are the ones who can relate to our flaws, faults, and sins. We feel the least comfortable confessing to someone who doesn’t struggle with the vices that are crushing us. It’s easy to confess to people who sin like me. They’re unrighteous like me. So they’ll never judge me. They can’t, or they’d be judging themselves. We take shelter with the sinners like us, but they can’t save us. They can only commiserate.  

It magnifies what the Psalmist sees in the LORD. A rock for himself, yet one who has no unrighteousness in Him. The LORD is shelter for sinners. Stability for sinners. But He is more. He calls the faithful “righteous.” He knows them not according to their sins. He makes those His own, brings them to nothing on the cross for you, then rises free of them. You have no sins left. You are as righteous as He is now.  

It changes the nature of confession. Confession is not built around commiserating together in a pit you can’t escape. Your sins aren’t too gross for God. They won’t make Him turn away or pull back. Not even if it’s the millionth time you’ve sinned. We confess to a God who isn’t like us so that we might become like Him. We who are unrighteous bring our unrighteousness to God, and He calls us righteous. Forgiven. Over and over and over again. It actually happens in church. It’s terrifying to confess your sins in front of your pastor. He’s not there to commiserate and tell you he did the same thing. But he was sent by God to forgive you and remind you that you are not unrighteous. You are forgiven and loved. In this forgiveness, we flourish and grow, giving thanks to the LORD. His praises are worth singing because He is our rock, our shelter that has actually saved us. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
Built on the Rock the Church shall stand Even when steeples are falling. Crumbled have spires in ev'ry land; Bells still are chiming and calling, Calling the young and old to rest, But above all the souls distressed, Longing for rest everlasting. (LSB 645:1)
- Rev. Harrison Goodman is the content executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.
A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols This collection of over 600 hand-drawn Christian symbols by artist and author Edward Riojas will teach you the extensive history of the imagery of the Church. Each symbol is a beautiful and historical connection to generations of Christians that have worshiped before you. A Complete Guide to Christian Symbols. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.