+ August 13, 2020 +
11th Sunday after Trinity
Online
INVOCATION
P In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
686 COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
1 Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
Fills my heart with joy and love,
Teach me ever to adore Thee;
May I still Thy goodness prove.
2 Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
3 Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be;
Let that grace now like a fetter
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
4 Oh, that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in the blood-washed linen,
How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace!
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry;
Take my ransom’d soul away;
Send Thine angels soon to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
Text: Public domain
COLLECT OF THE DAY
P Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, always more ready to hear than we to pray and to give more than we either desire or deserve, pour down upon us the abundance of Your mercy, forgiving those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those good things that we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Genesis 4:1–15
1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
8Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” 13Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” 15Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
EPISTLE 1 Corinthians 15:1–10
1Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the eighteenth chapter.
9[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
APOSTLES’ CREED
C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
The tax collector
said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Luke 18:13.
Jesus told this parable to “some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt” (verse 9). He illustrated the self-righteous attitude by creating this character of the pompous Pharisee, who says, to God, “I thank you that I’m not like other people.” It’s clear that in his mind, he pretends to be better than all others.
You who are in Christ, by virtue of your baptism and faith, have been called by God to a different way of thinking, a different way of life. You have been called by God, anointed and appointed by Him to do just the opposite: to trust not in yourselves, but in the Lord -- to glory not in your own righteousness, but to glory in Christ and His righteousness. Your are called to not treat others with contempt but to treat others as you would have them treat you.
Consider your calling in life. You should regularly exam your actions and words and thoughts -- what you do and what you leave without doing. Is your daily life in keeping with your calling?
All of us have different vocations as the Lord gives us talents, responsibilities and opportunities. Some are students, some are teachers, some are fathers, some are children, some are bosses, some are workers. But when it is all boiled down all of our different vocations are built on the same calling -- to glorify God and to serve others. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.
Actually, every person in the world has that as his or her calling. Everyone who has ever lived since the first people, Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel, all were created to glorify the Lord and love their neighbor. That’s why it was not good for Adam to be alone. He needed a wife. He needed to have her be a neighbor to love.
But sadly, most people don’t realize their purpose in life. They don’t hear Jesus calling them to give glory to Him and love each other. The self-centered, self-absorbed sinful human nature is prone to treat others with contempt, rather than see them as who they truly are, children of the good creator. The pompous ego gets frustrated with others and says, I don’t need them. I’m good on my own.
About Adam, God declared it’s not good for man to be alone. By himself he was incomplete. What good was all the world if there were no one for Adam to share it with. God had to make Eve so that Adam would not continue alone. One of the tasks that God gave to Adam was to name all the living creatures of the newly created world. But what good would that have done to have names for the creatures, if he could not speak those names to someone else. So God gave Adam and Eve children to love and to care for and to teach all about life, including, I’m sure those lessons, like the dog goes woof, the cat goes meow.
From that first family onward, God gives opportunities for each person to think beyond oneself and to think of others with care and love and service. That’s our vocation, to serve God, by serving others as He gives us the ability and the opportunity to do so. But when contempt enters into the heart, we fail. Cain is the prototype example.
Jesus Christ, like everyone else in all creation, has a vocation. He was called to glorify His Father and love His neighbor. He said a number of times that He came no to be serve but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many. One specific aspect of His vocation is that He is the anointed Prophet of God. He proclaims the Word of God. He preaches the law of God to convict sinners and bring them to repentance. He preaches the Gospel of God to comfort and to bring peace to the troubled hearts of repentant believers.
In this parable in Luke 18, Our Great High Prophet preaches a powerful sermon. He Preaches about this Pharisees pride and contempt, which could rise up in each of us -- even at the place of worship and prayer. The Pharisee was proud of His tithe, His fasting, His righteous, outward appearance. The result was that He was not the one declared righteous by the Lord, whose call matters most. What is more, the lesson for us is that in his pride, the Pharisee is no good to the Lord and no good to His neighbor. He has failed at his vocation and his calling in life. When you glory in yourself, you are not glorying God and you are despising your neighbor.
That’s why Cain despised His brother so. He was trying to demonstrate how good he was, to show off before God and everyone else with his religious acts and sacrificing. Showing off comes from pride, not from love and a heart of service.
The prophet Jesus preaches this parable so you will give up on your own works and your own pretended righteousness. Jesus preaches this parable to give you faith, faith like that of the tax collector who said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Be merciful. That was the prayer of one who has nothing to show off. No righteousness to offer on his own. But it’s a prayer of faith, trusting that by mercy, help will come from the Lord. Amen.
OFFERTORY LSB 192
C Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Be merciful to us, heavenly Father, for daily and much do we sin and transgress Your holy will. For the sake of the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, forgive our sins. Fill us with Your Spirit, that we would remain humble, never forgetting that we have been saved by grace, through faith, which was not our doing but Your gracious gift. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Be merciful to our neighbors, especially those who have sinned against us and done us harm. Give us patience and strength, that we would deal with them gently and humbly, and that we would be ready to forgive as we have been forgiven. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Be merciful to Your Church both here and in every place. Send forth faithful servants to deliver Your grace and mercy to sinners in need. Defend all pastors from arrogance and pride, and strengthen them in the faithful preaching of Your Word, that true unity in the faith would be found wherever Christ crucified is proclaimed. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Be merciful to our leaders, that they would exercise the authority given them with wisdom and righteousness, so that we would be enabled to live in freedom and peace. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Be merciful to all those in need, especially children who lack food, clothing and shelter, and provide for their needs. Look in mercy also upon all orphans who are in need of parents to care for them. Provide them with loving fathers and mothers. Until such provision is realized, bless those who care for them, that they would do so in love, which is filled with mercy and compassion. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Be merciful to this world, to bring an end to the pandemic that we may live in peace and safety. Watch over children returning to schools, educators and staff, that they may all carry out their tasks of learning and teaching. For those going away to college, grant to them health and safety, and so enable them to fulfill their vocation from you in Christ Jesus. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
P Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
C Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
BENEDICAMUS
A Bless we the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
BENEDICTION
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
C Amen.
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