Encore Post: In New Testament times, rabbis were not full-time teachers or ministers. Because God is a God Who works, rabbis worked at a profession one third of the time and studied and taught two thirds of the time. The difference between these teachers and everyday people is work was just a means to buy food and clothing. Jesus likely worked at His trade as a carpenter (more of a contractor than simply a worker of wood) some of the time. St. Paul continued his trade as a tentmaker.
After Jesus rose from the dead, Peter, James, John, and others moved back to Galilee. They picked up their nets again to earn a living. They caught nothing all night. Jesus called to them from the shore and told them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat. They caught a net full of fish. Jesus did this once before for them — at the beginning of his ministry. John instantly recognized it was Jesus. When they got to shore, the disciples saw Jesus had made a breakfast of fish and bread — just like he had fed 5000 people not long before. By preparing breakfast for his disciples, Jesus shows He blesses the everyday work God has given us. He helps His disciples do their work and gives them a hot meal to go with their catch.
But he had one more job for them to do. And He also gives them another job to do. He asked Peter three times if the disciple loved him. Peter, quite upset by the question, said he loved Jesus three times. Each time Jesus told him to care for God’s people — His lambs and His sheep. That is what Peter and the other apostles did.
Today, Jesus calls on pastors, teachers, deaconesses, and others to do the same. Pastors teach his Word, proclaim the gospel of the forgiveness of sins in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. They forgive sins in his name, baptize and feed his sheep with Christ’s own body and blood, together with bread and wine. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus, his apostles and the pastors that went to every corner of the world, making disciples from every nation, language, tribe and race.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: St. Thomas was a practical, down to earth man. Called “the Twin,” the few words we have from him were very direct. When Jesus was determined to go to Lazarus‘ Tomb, not five miles from Jerusalem, Thomas said, “Let us also go and die with Him.” When Jesus told the disciples at the Lord’s Supper that He was going to prepare a place for them, he asked, “Lord, we don’t know where You are going, how can we know the way?”
Subtle Thomas was not. Loyal, strong and down to earth, he was. When Jesus was crucified, Thomas had no doubt the Lord was dead. He knew every detail. He did not want it to be that way, but he was a realist. Jesus was gone, end of story. So when the other disciples told Thomas with joy, “We have seen the Lord!” Thomas would have nothing of it. He had to see the wounds that marked Jesus in a live man to believe. Even seeing would not be enough. He had to touch the wounds. On something as important as the life of the Lord, Thomas would not be fooled.
All of this changed when Jesus appeared to him and the rest of the disciples the Sunday after Easter. The doors were locked and suddenly Jesus was with them. Jesus said, “Shalom,” or “Peace, be with you all.” This greeting, even though it is the Hebrew version of “Hello,” had special meaning for the disciples. Jesus was telling them everything was all right. Turning to Thomas, He invited His hard-headed disciple to see for himself. “Stop doubting,” Jesus said, “and believe.”
This was all Thomas needed. He dropped to his knees to worship Jesus. All he could say was, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus mildly rebukes him and then blesses us. “You have seen and believed,” Jesus said. “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” And so it is. Later, St. Peter introduces his first letter, praising God for all He has done for us. “Though you have not seen Him,” Peter says to his readers, “you love Him and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Why? Because we know we are receiving what our faith really wants, the salvation of our souls.
In the end, this faith, which Jesus gave to Thomas — a faith that would send the Apostle to India to establish the church there — is itself a gift from God. It comes through His Word and Sacraments. “These are written,” St. John tells us, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing, you may have life in His name.” Blessed we are indeed to hear and say, “He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear saints: things were starting to look up. The situation had been dire, to say the least. It had not rained for a long time. Drought was upon the land. Crops would have failed. Water was drying up. Your rain god was not answering your or your priest’s prayers and sacrifices. You are all but out of food and have resigned yourself to your fate: you will make a final cake for you and your son. Then, you will wait for death from starvation.
You go to collect the sticks for your fire, but you are interrupted. A man you recognize as an Israelite calls out to you asking for a drink. You can handle that and turn to get it. But then he goes further. He asks for some bread to eat. That you feel you cannot do. You suppress whatever feelings you have for this man because his God has told you to feed him. Nonetheless, you still complain of your plight.
But this man of God is undeterred and makes an audacious promise: “thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth’” So, taking the command you received and the request of this man, you do as he says. You make him his bread. And according to the word of this man and his God, your flower and oil do not run out.
You take this man in. You house him and listen to what he says. Perhaps you begin to think that this man’s God is greater than your gods. You recognize that his words have power and authority behind them. What he says resonates, and his talk of sin makes your conscience uncomfortable. You know and hear of the evil that His people have done and the consequences they are suffering. And, with this drought, you are as well. After all, you and your people serve the same god that this prophet is denouncing.
You hear of the mercy that this God has for His people. That He continually calls them to turn from their evil and return to Him. That He has good things for them. That He wants to forgive them and have them live in their Promised Land forever. And perhaps you start to wonder if this God would or could do the same for you.
And then, your son gets sick. No matter what you try, he gets worse and worse. Finally, your worst fear is realized: he dies. You are alone. Your husband and your son are dead. You only have this prophet in your upper room.
That prophet that has been talking about sin. Your sin. And now your son is dead. Is this why he came? To condemn what you have done and then kill your son in retribution? Is it not bad enough that you feel bad for what you have done? For the things that you have guided your son into? Now you must compound the guilt by taking him? By making you all alone? Is this the work of a merciful God? It sounds like the fickle gods of the people. The gods that you were beginning to doubt.
The prophet hears your cry of complaint and despair. And he says to you, “Give me your son.” and goes to the room you have given him to stay in. You do not know what he is going to do, but perhaps you feel a glimmer of hope. Maybe this God who commanded you to feed His prophet and the prophet whose word you have listened to, whose promise has sustained your family with flour and oil will do some work to fix this mess. To deliver your son from death and you from agony.
While you sit and wait for who knows what, the prophet lays your son on his own bed. And the prophet, who has received words and messages from God time and again, has no message for this boy. There is no command to declare to the skies to withhold rain. No promise that a widow has been commanded to feed him. He only feels your hurt. The pain of a woman mourning for her son. A son whom she believed to be delivered from the famine thanks to a prophet and his God.
Elijah cries out, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Not even God’s prophet understands why the child’s life was taken. But he diligently prays on the widow’s behalf. Three times he stretches himself out and three times Elijah cries out to the Lord. And God listens. He hears the plea and responds. He grants the child his life back.
But you do not know this. Perhaps you hear the prophet cry out. But unless your boy made noise as his life returned, you do not know if the cries were successful. But you do hear the prophet start down the stairs. You tense up and look to where he will emerge.
To your joy and relief, your boy is with the prophet. And he is alive. The words you doubted were possible are uttered: “See, your son lives.” And a rollercoaster of emotions flood your body. Relief. Joy. Love. Thanksgiving.
But there is also something else. And that is faith. It is a faith that the Lord Himself began cultivating when he first commanded you to feed His prophet. A faith that, even in its infancy, acted in giving that prophet bread before you and your son. And faith that was nurtured as you heard the teachings of the prophet. When you were afflicted on account of your sins and when you wondered if His forgiveness could be applied to you. A faith that was tested when your son died. And now a strong faith in the God who can restore life to the dead. And in faith you reply to the prophet, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
Elijah stayed with the woman and her son until he was called back to Israel and King Ahab. But I am sure that he continued to preach and teach God’s Word among those around him. Sure that the faith of the woman and her son was continued to be strengthened and that they remained certain of God’s mercy and trusting in His promise of a coming Messiah.
A Messiah that we encounter today at Nain. Where He encounters another widow who is bringing her only son out of the city to bury him. And having compassion on the woman, Jesus raises the boy from the dead. He speaks to the dead man and the dead man sits up and begins to speak.
St. Paul teaches us that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The woman, hearing the teaching of the prophet, knows her sin and the sin of her son. When the boy dies, she rightly understands that his death is the result of sin. But she is not right that it is the prophet causing the boy to die because of her sin.
But there is One who dies on account of your sin. The same Jesus who approaches a dead man at Nain. Who knows that He will one day hang on a tree in place of Elijah, both widows, both boys, and you. He knows that He will suffer and die, subjecting Himself to the condemnation that you and all humanity deserve.
But He also knows that He will rise. And then upon His resurrection, He will have defeated sin, death, and the devil once and for all. That His blood cleanses all who trust in Him for life and salvation. And that, though each of you have a day where you will fall asleep, He will not abandon you. He will return. And when He does, He will raise you and all the dead. And you, along with all the dead in Christ, will be given an immortal and resurrected body where you will dwell with Him eternally. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller Trinity Lutheran Church Guttenberg, Iowa and St. Paul Lutheran Church McGregor, Iowa
Encore Post: At the time of Jesus, bathing was an important part of being cultured. The Romans especially prized their public baths, that was as much a part of daily life as going to the gym to work out is today. Especially when you were going to a banquet, you would visit the baths before you went. Besides this, in the tradition of the Pharisees, Jewish people would ritually wash themselves and everything they would use to serve food. Especially for the Passover, when no leaven was allowed to be eaten, these rituals would be strictly followed.
The problem was you couldn’t avoid getting your feet dirty in an age when you wore sandals and walked on dirt roads. In well-to-do homes, a gentile slave would be provided to the guests to wash their feet. A disciple would do many things for his master, but foot-washing was unworthy of them. When there was no slave, you would wash your own feet.
That is why Jesus’ action was so shocking. The last one who should wash feet is the Lord. Yet, he is the one who serves us all. Because he would wash feet, so also we are called to meet every need of everyone.
Encore Post: In Jesus’ day, the High Priestly family allowed businessmen to sell sacrificial animals in the Court of the Gentiles, just outside the temple proper. They would, of course, do this for very high prices and pay the family for the privilege. Another business, money changing, also went on in this area. Roman money bore images of the Emperor and pagan gods. These could not be carried into the temple proper, the High Priests ruled, since they broke the first commandment. Naturally, these moneychangers would charge a fee to change money into temple money.
When Jesus visited the temple and saw this going on. He saw it for what it was —stealing from God’s people as they came to worship. He knocked over the tables and threw these merchants out of the temple, chasing them with a whip made of cords.
Jesus’ disciples remembered two passages of Scripture that the Lord fulfilled when he did this. The Prophet Malachi predicted that the Messiah — “the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.” (3:1-4) He would “purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.” John the Baptist, the Messenger to come before the Messiah had come and identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Soon the animals would no longer be needed. The Lamb whom God provides would soon be the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin. They also remembered Psalm 69:9, “zeal for your house has consumed me.” The Lord, whose house the temple was, was engaging in spring cleaning.
There is some question as to when Jesus did this. The Gospel of John tells the story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, but the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the story at the end of his ministry. Since none of the gospels are strictly chronological (they sometimes tell stories out of date), it is possible Jesus did this once at either time or that he did it twice.
Either way, it has the same meaning: Jesus was cleansing the temple. Soon the leaders of the people were to destroy the true temple — his body — and in three days, God would raise him up again. Then there would no longer be a need for the earthly temple. God’s son, his only son, whom he loves, would be the sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. With payment in full, there is no need for the blood of earthly lambs anymore.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: The town of Bethany was a bedroom community for priests and Levites, just over the Mount of Olives along the road to Bethlehem. Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus were well off. They owned a home and probably a few slaves. The Scripture does not tell us what they did for a living, but they had enough resources to afford expensive perfume and likely were donors to the ministry of Jesus and his disciples. Outside the small circle of the apostles, they were the closest friends of Jesus during his earthly ministry. It seems likely that Jesus and his entourage stayed with them every time they came to the Holy City.
On one trip to Jerusalem, Martha was preparing a banquet for her favorite rabbi. Nothing was too good for him. Mary was helping her sister, but when Jesus began to teach, she sat down like a disciple at his feet, listening to him. Martha was angry that her sister was lounging around while there were many things that needed doing. She complained to Jesus, who told her affectionately that she didn’t need to worry so much. What she was doing was good. Hospitality is a form of the loving service God calls us to do. Some in the early church, in fact, looked at the example of Martha as a model for the work of a deaconess. Listening to God’s word was more important than all the details that she was concerned about.
The week before Palm Sunday, the family was grieving. Lazarus had died and was in the tomb four days by the time Jesus got there. Both Martha and Mary expressed strong faith in the Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. Jesus called Lazarus back from the dead.
To celebrate their brother’s resurrection, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus held a banquet. Once again, Martha was preparing the feast. This time, Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with a perfume worth $24,000. Judas made a scene about how it could be sold to feed the poor. The disciples later questioned his motives, since he was the treasurer of the group and a week later, he would betray Jesus for coins worth $3200. Jesus told him to leave well enough alone. Mary had learned from Jesus well — she was preparing him for his burial. Two weeks later, Jesus would serve them — and us. He suffered for their sins and ours, died to pay their debt and ours and rose again that we might all rise on the last day. Now we can serve like Martha, Mary and Lazarus, showing our love for Jesus by caring for others.
Encore Post: In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. All the shepherds in the village would keep their sheep together in this pen overnight. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves.
When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. A shepherd had an intimate relationship with his sheep. In some cases, they would be as close to them as a pet is to us. So the sheep recognized the voice of the man who cared for them. When he called them by name, they would follow. The shepherd would take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. He would keep them from wandering off and would treat any wounds, binding them up. He would protect them from wild animals, often doing battle with them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. True shepherds would risk their lives to save their sheep.
Kings often compared themselves to shepherds. They liked to be seen as caring for them and keeping them safe. They expected their subjects to willingly follow everywhere they wanted them to go.
In the Bible, God tells us He is our Shepherd. He will feed them, gather their lambs in his arms and hold them close to his heart. (Isaiah 40:11) Most of all, in Jesus, God is our Good Shepherd. He leads us with his word, guides us and protects us from evil. Like a good shepherd, he laid down his life for the sheep. He died so that we might be saved. On the last day of our life, he will lead us through the valley of the shadow of death safely home to dwell in his house forever. (Psalm 23)
Encore Post: Leprosy was a dreaded skin condition during Biblical times. It was caused by a number of diseases from bad rashes to sicknesses that caused the loss of fingers, toes and other parts of the body. Lepers were made to live away from everyday people and to yell unclean if anyone came close to them. They were not allowed to go to the synagogue or the temple and so were cut off completely from God and the care of family and friends. Often they lived together with other lepers. If a person touched a leper, they were called unclean, too, and couldn’t enter the temple or synagogue.
Sometimes lepers would get well. To recognize that the person was no longer a leper, a person would go to the priests to be declared clean again. One sign of the Messiah’s coming was that he would heal lepers. Jesus showed God’s love for everyone, even lepers, when Jesus healed the disease.
One day, when Jesus was walking down the road, ten lepers shouted to Him from a distance: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. He told them to go and see the priests in Jerusalem. As they went, they were healed. When one of them, a Samaritan, saw that He was well, He went back to Jesus, loudly praising God. The man lay down on his face at Jesus’ feet to worship Jesus and thank Him. Jesus asked where the other nine were. Jesus told the man to get up because his faith made him well.
Even though Jews of Jesus’ time despised Samaritans and treated them poorly, Jesus once again makes the point that God does not discriminate against people because of sickness, race, or religion. All people are his children and he shows mercy to us all. After all, he was about to bear the sins of all the sons and daughters of Adam on the cross. On the last day, people from all nations, races and time, redeemed by his blood, will gather as one to praise him. So, now, we join the former lepers is praying, “Lord, have mercy” and reach out to care for all his children in need.
Encore Post: One day, Jesus sat down to teach in the temple’s Court of the Women where he could watch people putting freewill offerings into the offering box. People of all walks of life day, put money into the treasury from the wealthiest to the poorest of God’s people. One of those people was a poor widow who contributed her last two copper coins.
Since this offering was not required, anyone who gave to the Lord in this way showed love for God. The rich people Jesus saw contributing were giving from their wealth and did not miss the money at all. The widow showed complete trust in God. She literally did not know where her next meal would come from. Yet she gave her last resources so that God could be praised.
In the time of Jesus, widows had a hard life. Very few women had independent means of support. When a widow’s husband died, she was completely at the mercy of her relatives, especially her sons. If they did not care, she would have to scrape by in any way she could. The widow in our story is likely one of the less fortunate ones.
Jesus commented on this woman’s faith and praised her for her trust that God would care for her. He did not condemn the giving of others. Instead, Jesus taught the disciples that the amount someone gives to God is not as important to him as the faith it demonstrates.
Christians are not commanded to give a specific amount of money or even a particular percentage of our income. We give offerings to our church, to other organizations in the Church and to care for those in need. We love God and want to participate in His mission to save the lost. So we share what we have, praying that God would bless them for the good of others.
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: For Jesus and the disciples, it had been a long day. The crowds had turned out to hear Jesus teach, and he did so all day. In the evening, Jesus challenged the disciples to feed the crowds with five loaves and two fishes. They couldn’t, but he did. They gathered up the pieces in twelve baskets. So Jesus needed to get away to pray. They just needed to get away. So Jesus pushed them to get in the boat and do what they knew very well — travel across the lake. He went away to pray alone.
For people in ancient times, the sea was a symbol of chaos and evil. They did so for good reason. Not only was the sea a place that could become violent at a moment’s notice, they had no way to know about coming storms as we do today. The disciples were veterans of the sea, not bothered much by the wind and wave, even when it was rough. That evening, the sea was much trouble. They could not use their sails, which would be blown to pieces. So they labored to row against it all night. They made good progress nevertheless.
Yet they were so exhausted that they did not know Jesus at first. They thought He was a ghost. When He told them who He was, they still weren’t sure. Peter came up with a test. If it was Jesus, Peter could walk on the water too, if Jesus wanted him to. As long as Peter paid attention to the Lord, he did walk on water. Only when he turned to watch wind and wave did Peter fear and begin to sink. What they missed is they did not need to be afraid. They should have known they could trust Jesus. By this event, Jesus taught His disciples to trust Him, even when water and wave threaten to destroy them.
O Savior, whose almighty word The winds and waves submissive heard, Who walked upon the foaming deep, And calm amid the rage did sleep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea.
