Looking Forward to Sunday Morning (One Year Lectionary): Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – Dr. John Bombaro, 9/9/26 (2521)

0:00Here's an easy way for you to support the worldwide outreach of Lutheran Public Radio Inc. and create a will for free. Free will offers a secure, online, estate planning tool that can help you create a will for free in about 20 minutes. Through free will you can help us educate future generations of Lutherans through programming like issues, etc. The word of the Lord Endores Forever are 24-7 sacred music and talk stations and the publishing of books. Learn more at freewill.com slash issuesetc.org What can we learn about the worship practices of the first Lutherans from a Reformation Edict by a Calvinist leader? Find out in Will Whedons column in the latest issues, etc. journal. We'll send it to you for free. Just click the red journal subscription button at issuesetc.org and enter your email address. In the Wittenburg Trail feature, Pastor Michael Hughes writes about his journey from progressive Lutheranism to confessional Lutheranism. The issuesetc.org. Subscribe for free at issuesetc.org.

1:24The hymn, What God ordains is always good. This coming Sunday according to the one-year electionary Jesus issues, well, it's a command but it's also a comfort. He says do not be anxious, something we find very difficult to do indeed. Greetings and welcome to issuesetc.org. Coming to you live from the studios of Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, Illinois. I'm Todd Wilkin. Thanks for tuning us in. We'll be looking forward to Sunday morning according to the one-year electionary, the 15th Sunday after Pantacost with Dr. John Bambaro. Then we'll look forward to Sunday morning according to the three-year electionary in Lutheran's catacisms with Pastor Peter Bender. Dr. John Bambaro with Senior Pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Indiana.

2:25He's a Navy chaplain serving the US Marine Corps. He's author of the new book, Prex Eucharistica, Prayers of Preparation and Thanksgiving for Holy Communion. Dr. Bambaro, welcome back. Thank you, Todd. Thanks for accommodating my military movements this week. How do the proppers for this coming Sunday shift from the theme we've been seeing so far in the Trinity season? I think you've given a good introduction. That's Trinity 15. Purpose is the deep in our understanding on divine providence, on freedom from worldly anxiety, especially finances, and then shift our reliance totally onto God's grace rather than personally provided finances or politics or governments. These vokai reinforce lessons from the previous two weeks and they call us to stretch faith and to allow it to pour into areas of life that are frequently resistance to divine dependence such as finances.

3:26In the Holy Gospel from Matthew 6, this is verses 24 to 34, our Lord Jesus confronts the possibility of serving God and man, and that's earthly wealth. And he says, it is not possible. You can't have two masters. And so he commands his followers not to be anxious about food, drink, clothing. It points to the birds of the air and the lilies of the field to demonstrate God's fatherly care. And this is how it will be in his kingdom. The central mandate, which is seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, that serves as the thematic anchor for the entire day and really for the Christian life. And it demands consideration of trust, allegiance, and priorities. The epistle is Galatians 5, 25 to 6, 10. And Tiersing Paul contrasts sowing to the flesh with sowing to the spirit, furthering the conversation of the fruit of the spirit that we had last week. The epistle urges us Christians to bear one another's burdens, which is a much needed admonishment in an age of digital isolation, but also to avoid self deception or alternatively

4:33to get out of an echo chamber and to remain patient and doing good without losing heart even if your candidate doesn't win. The Old Testament lesson brings us the first Corinthians 17, 8 to 16. And it's the story of Elijah and the widow of Zara Fath illustrating God's care during a famine. The widow gives her final meal to God's prophet and the Lord miraculously preserves her with a bin of flour and a jar of oil, which is a vivid Old Testament testament to our Lord Jesus' promise that God provides for those who trust in Him. And we'll hear about the Holy Church and the sacraments in this regard once we get to the gospel. The intro opens with incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, save your servant who trusts in you. This establishes a stance of humble dependence and the character of a servant in acts of mercy that epitomized the lessons of Trinity 15.

5:35A liturgical color of green bespeaks of growth and maturity, spiritual health, the continuous life in Christ throughout this Trinity season. The call to the day is derived from the Galician sacramentary, which was preserved through Thomas Cranvers' Anglican prayer books. And it focuses on human frailty and divine preservation. The Henriquean English hybrids keep, we besiege the Old Lord, thy church with thy perpetual mercy. And because of the frailty of man without the cannot but fall keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful. Our modern English versions do a really good job of preserving that and the honorific references to the Lord as well. We should note, as you did there, the pedagogical shift in Trinity tied this week too. Occurring right at the midpoint of the Trinity season, Trinity 15 represents a key shift

6:35from basic doctrinal instruction toward the practical outworking of Christian life, specifically addressing material stewardship, worry, and trusting our Lord Jesus Christ with our daily needs. And that sums up all of our texts for this week. So Pastor Bambaro, what does the intro at hold for us this coming Sunday, the 15th Sunday after Fiendy? Well, it comes from Psalm 86 and it serves as the liturgical entrance to Matthew chapter 6, our gospel text from verses 24 to 34. And it does so by reorienting our desires away from temporal anxiety toward a single-minded trust in Christ's kingdom and providence. It aims to engender singleness of devotion over worldly security or insecurity. Our Lord warns that no one can serve two masters and that devotion to our Father in heaven is incompatible with the idolization of earthly wealth or maman.

7:36That's exactly what our Lord says in Matthew 6, 24. So Psalm 86 echoes this exclusive legions by appealing to the Lord throughout for grace and for mercy for the Lord to answer and to save his servant as it says here, who trusts in him saying, you are my God." So the intro establishes that are souls true home in security lie in God's house rather than in worldly treasures. And hence the admonishment by Christ to seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness. Psalm 86 provides the prayerful heart. This command expressing a deep knowing hunger for God's presence, which imparts salvation, strength and resulting grace. By chanting the Psalm at the beginning of the divine service, the church anchors its primary longing in God's kingdom before turning to consider other daily needs. Dr. John Bambaro is our guest.

8:38We're looking forward to Sunday morning according to the one-year electionary. The 15th Sunday after Trinity, we will get to the collect for the 15th Sunday next. Here's an easy way for you to support the worldwide outreach of Lutheran public radio incorporated and create a will for free. Free will offers a secure, online estate planning tool that can help you create a will for free in about 20 minutes. Through free will you can help us educate future generations of Lutherans through programming like issues etc. The word of the Lord indoors forever are 24-7 sacred music and talk stations and the publishing of books. One more at freewill.com slash issues.

9:39ETC.org How can we read the Bible as God's word for us? What do we gain when we memorize Scripture? What practical tools and methods can help us better store up God's word in our hearts? This month's issue of the Lutheran witness offers Biblically-Sound answers to these questions and more with contributions from read-lessing and in riantonetti, mark love and others learn more at witness.lsms.org. Lutheran witness interpreting the contemporary world from a Lutheran perspective. Evangelical and Catholic. You're listening to issues etc. Did you ever wonder what your purpose is in this life? Come find the answer at Lutheran Church of our Savior located on California's beautiful central coast in Santa Maria. Where LCR West desires to reach more people for Christ by proclaiming Him, by growing in faith and by carrying for all people. Discover LCR West at our website lcos.net or our Facebook page at lcos Santa Maria, California.

10:47Luther Academy provides additional theological education for our mission partners around the world. Specifically pastors who are asking for additional education but do not have the necessary resources in their own church bodies. By donating to Luther Academy today you will be supplying food, housing, books, professors and travel for Lutheran pastors who attend our conferences. To learn more about Luther Academy and how you can donate today visit LutherAcademy.com Welcome back to issues etc. I'm Todd Wilkins on this Wednesday September 9th. We are looking forward to Sunday morning according to the one-year election ready the 15th Sunday after trendy Dr. John Bambarles our guest. What will we be praying in the collect for this next Sunday? Our prayer will go like this. O Lord, we implore you. Let your continual pity cleanse and defend your church and because she cannot continue

11:52in safety without your aid preserve her evermore by your help and goodness. Through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. This week's collect is in thorough going plea, not unlike the introit, for the Lord to manifest the kind of pity that the Holy Church needs such that sanctifies and defends her. This is the ask the Lord Jesus to look upon the Church as it would love it bride and to keep her in the way of safety because it's the responsibility, the bridegroom, to protect and to provide for his spouse. By being preserved by the goodness of the Lord the Holy Church is rendered evermore beautiful. I would argue that this does not and cannot happen unless we follow his pure and wholesome word and do so following it to the Eucharist where the bridegroom gives himself to us and so fulfills all these requests and needs.

12:52Our gradual and verse, what do they present? Graduals from Psalm 118 to 8.9 and then the verse will be from Psalm 95 in verse 1. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. In the verses, read this way, Alleluia, O come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Alleluia, first the comment on the gradual. Psalm 118 and 18 verses 8.9, flatly states, pure divine wisdom. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. This directly reinforces the central theological themes for Trinity 15. Complete undivided reliance on devolving providence over mortal security. In the appointed gospel lesson from Matthew 6, Jesus warns that no one conserved to masters

13:58and cautions against making wealth or worldly security an object of devotion or confidence. So the gradual identifies the human temptation to anchor safety in mortal agents, whether professional self-reliance or which is termed here man or institutional authority and wealth. It would be princes and this would include government and technology. The Psalm confirms Christ instruction by declaring that earthly power structures and material assets are unstable foundations compared to the Lord. Everything is sinking sand as it were and only the Lord is our rock. Prone-ly divinely given and bolstered faith is the antidote to our worldly anxieties. As far as the verse is concerned, this verse puts a rightful response into our mouths in an anticipatory way for the gospel or about the hear. Christ Jesus and the word he dispenses in the sacraments of his self-giving are the solution

14:59to the anxieties of the soul. Not drugs, not therapy, not denial, not technologies and certainly not politicians, although each of those may have their place to one degree or another, but ultimately the Lord is the answer. So lay whole of the realities of the gospel, sing to the Lord and make a joyful noise. Our Old Testament reading comes from 1 Kings 17, beginning at verse 8. Then the word of the Lord came to him, arise, go to Zeraphath, which belongs to Sidon and Dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you. So he arose and went to Zeraphath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, bring me your morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, as the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour

16:00in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, do not fear, go and do as you have said, but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me. And afterward make something for yourself and your son. For 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. And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. All right, great stuff there. During the 9th century BC, as our historic context, the Northern Kingdom of Israel was ruled by the infamous wicked King Ahab and his sinister Phoenician Queen Jezebel.

17:03Ahab promoted baleism or baalism, the Canaanite storm and fertility religion leading Israel into widespread covenant infidelity and so the consequences for the breach covenant. In response, Yahweh sent the prophet Elijah to pronounce a severe drought over the land, striking directly at the domain of Baal who was believed by his worshippers to control the rain in the crops. Well guess what, not so much. And the Brooke chair had dried up. God commanded Elijah to go to Zerefat, a town situated between Tyre and Zaidan. Zaidan was the homeland of Jezebel in the epicenter of this bale worship. Sending Elijah there demonstrated that Yahweh supreme authority within Baal's home turf while hiding Elijah from Ahab's search parties. Widows in antiquity, they lacked legal status and economic security. This woman was already in a precariously impoverished circumstance when this famine struck.

18:07When Elijah met this Gentile widow, which is a key point in the narrative, not to be glossed over, she was gathering two sticks to bake her final morsel of meal for herself and her son before facing death by starvation. But the Lord has other plans. Elijah asked for water in a small cake of bread first, testing her trust in the God of Israel. Her obedience in giving what little she had resulted in a supernatural preservation of her jar of flour and her jug of oil throughout the remainder of the drought. So a miracle concerning food is being presented here. A miracle concerning food that brings life. We should see where this is going. Do the Nazareth manifesto in Luke 4 verses 25 and 26 where our Lord Jesus cites this very passage in the synagogue at Nazareth. Pointing out that although there were many widows in Israel during the three to half year

19:08famine, Elijah was sent to none of them but only to a Gentile widow in Zarafah. Jesus uses this narrative to prefigure his own rejection by his countrymen and the subsequent extension of salvation to the Gentiles and by way of anticipation, food that brings life. Our Lord's hermeneutic posits Elijah then as a prophetic type of Christ. Jesus brings the Word of God to a dying world, entering into human suffering and death to bestow life and sustained nourishment where earthly resources have completely failed. He brings the miraculous bread of life into spiritual famine. The widow then represents humanity or in terms of the feminine, the bride of Christ that he comes to save and presents her in a destitute spiritual famine. When she received the Word in faith, a surrender to her last earthly security and receives abundant

20:08life for shadowing the gospel paradox that whoever yields their life for Christ's sake will preserve it. When this inexhaustible jar of flour and jug of oil, they serve as old testament archetypes of the Holy Eucharist, just as the widow's flour was continually consumed without ever running dry, Christ Jesus, the incarnate bread of life, descends from heaven, gives his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist to nourish believers throughout the wilderness of this world without his grace ever being exhausted. For requesting the bread, Elijah asks for a cup of water followed by the miraculous multiplying of oil. In early Christian edicts of Jesus, that's liturgical exegesis, the combination of water and unceasing supply of oil represents the cleansing of holy baptism paired with the indefectable gift of the Holy Spirit. Patricistic commentators, what's such I found with St. Augustine Tertullian, they gave great

21:13mystical weight to the widow gathering two sticks. The early church fathers interpreted two crosses, two crossed pieces of wood as a foreshadowing of the Holy Cross on Mount Calvary. Only by placing her meager offering upon the wood of the cross was the bread of life prepared, signifying that all sacramental life and heavenly bread flows directly from Christ's sacrificial death upon the cross. Our appointed song is Psalm 146. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in the Son of man in whom there is no salvation. On his breath, the parts he returns to the earth, on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he, whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God, who made

22:15heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners. He upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever. Your God, O Zion, to all generations, praise the Lord. Well we have had this very same Psalm appointed two weeks ago. In fact, I think this is the third time in our liturgical counters. I'll shift my comments accordingly so as not to be redundant. In the Lutheran liturgical tradition, this Psalm is incorporated into the daily office, particularly Mattins, Lods and Vespers, as a principal Psalm of morning praise, the Laudite.

23:16And it does so in the continuous Psalter rotations and as a thematic proper. We know it best from its placement in the structure of Mattins. During the opening verticals, O Lord, open my lips. We read this in the Venete, which is Psalm 95. Psalm 96 is chanted or recited as the appointed Psalm in the day. It also serves as a prophetic catalog of divine actions, releasing captives, opening blind eyes, feeding the hungry, reigning eternally, and all of which we find its typological fulfillment in the incarnation, ministry, and sacramental life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as all the Psalms do. In Psalm 146 in particular, the Psalmist contrasts fragile human rulers, princes, and mortal man in whom there is no salvation. He contrasts that with Yahweh, the creator redeemer. Jesus Christ fulfills this contrast by proving himself to be Yahweh in human flesh, set in

24:20stark contrast to Caesar in whom there is no salvation. When John the Baptist sent disciples as if Jesus were the Messiah, our Lord pointed directly to the actions of Psalm 146. The blind received their sight, the lame walk, the poor have the good news preached to them. That's Matthew 11, 4 and 5. His credentials are public. The mortal man returns to his earth and his plans perish. Verse 4. Christ conquered death through his resurrection, fulfilling verse 10. The Lord will reign forever your God, O Zion, to all generations. Saint John Christos, the notes that by performing the exact deeds reserved for God in Psalm 146, healing the blind, raising the downtrodden, Jesus demonstrated his co-equal divinity with the Father, but also his here and now bonafides as the only savior of the world.

25:23The actions of Yahweh in Psalm 146 prefigure the continuous work of Christ through the holy sacraments of the church, beginning with illumination and deliverance in holy baptism. It reads in verses 7-8, the Lord sets the prisoners free, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. These verses typify holy baptism, which historically is termed the illumination. Baptism delivers the sinner from bondage, the Satan, the Prince of this age, our Lord heals spiritual blindness of original sin. Then verse 7 portends to the holy Eucharist. He gives food to the hungry. Well, I think this prefigures the sacrament of the altar where Christ feeds soul, not with perishable food, but with his own life-giving body and blood. Then there's Holy Absolution of verse 8. The Lord raises up those who are bowed down. All Christians ought to regularly resort to the miracle of holy absolution because in it Christ raises up those who are bowed down in contrition and repentance.

26:28But it remains sorely neglected in our therapeutic age. Quickly with you, Todd, I would that our parishioners leveraged the miracle of holy absolution with greater frequency than perhaps resourcing therapists, all of which has been said by the church fathers. Everything that we've just commented on, they consistently read Psalm 146 through a Christological and Eucharistic lens. I'll read just but two. One from Saint Augustine commenting on this Psalm when he writes that Christ is the true physician saying, quote, who are the blind, those who cannot see God? Christ opens their eyes by his grace. He frees those bound by the chains of their sins. End quote. And lastly, Saint Cyril of Alexandria highlights that Christ's physical miracles of feeding the hungry and healing the blind were sacramental pledges of spiritual healings that he distributes endlessly within the church.

27:29So by receiving Christ in word and sacrament, the church experiences today the reality that is sung in this Psalm, the eternal King, walking among his people to heal, to feed and to liberate. You're connected to issues, saturday. I'm Todd Wilkin. We're looking forward to the 15th Sunday after Trinity with Dr. John Bambaro. LCMS worship has produced church year calendars, lectionary summaries for Sunday readings, Bible studies and worship resources for children and youth. Learn more about these free resources at LCMS.org slash worship. LCMS.org slash worship. We will get into our episteling Galatians chapter 5 next. Why does Luke emphasize prayer more than any other gospel writer?

28:36How did the early Christians navigate wealth in an empire without a safety net? And what made Jesus treatment of women so revolutionary? The issues et cetera, book of the month for September is dinner with the doctor, Luke's gospel for the hungry. Learn more about this new Bible commentary and daily devotional at issuezTC.org or by calling Concordia Publishing House 1-800-325-3040. Dinner with the doctor by Dr. Andrew Dawes. In Colossians 3, St. Paul says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Don't take our Lutheran divine service for granted. From start to finish, it's almost nothing but the Bible in preaching, prayer and song. God's Word is meant to admonish and forgive us and teach us for a life of joy and thanksgiving. For more about the richness of God's Word, Lutherans might just take for granted. Visit us at LCMS.org slash worship. Your church service, sanctuary and congregation are all unique.

29:36So why settle for low-quality recordings when your organist is unavailable? The substitute organist service from church music solutions is genuine organ leadership using your instrument with your specific selections when you need it. Log on to churchmusicsolutions.com and request a free demo kit to allow you and your members to use the substitute organist service without obligation and without a sales pitch. Keep singing with church music solutions. Are you a young man who is thinking about serving as a pastor in the Lord's Church? Comment and enter a rich theology program where you can learn the biblical languages, study the Lutheran Confessions and worship in a liturgical chapel to be formed and prepared for the seminary. Dr. James Ambrusly, Chair of the Division of Theology at Concordia University, Chicago, learn more about the pre-Seminary program at CUC by visiting CUChicago.edu. Prayer, meditation, the assaults of Satan, your listening to issues, etc.

30:41Thanks to the following congregations for standing with us by becoming an issues, etc. For the congregational sponsor, St. Peter Lutheran Arlington, Wisconsin, Emmanuel Lutheran, Hinckley, Illinois, Mt. Calvary, Lutheran, Omaha, Nebraska, Trinity, Lutheran, Miles, City, Montana, St. John Lutheran, Waverley, Iowa, Bethany, Lutheran, Fairview Heights, Illinois, Christ, Lutheran, New Baltimore, Michigan, Prince of Peace, Lutheran, Virginia, Re-Demer Lutheran, Mandaville, Louisiana, Good Shepherd Lutheran, Boise, Idaho, and Trinity Lutheran, Milstot, Illinois. Find out how your confessional Lutheran Church can support this worldwide outreach by including issues, etc. in your mission or advertising budget. Just go to issuesetc.org, click Support, Donate, and print a one-page flyer. When your congregation becomes an issues, etc. sponsor will publicize your church on the podcast, at our website, and in the issues, etc. journal.

31:45Dr. John Bambaro is our guest. He's walking us through the propers for the 15th Sunday after Trinity, according to the one-year lecture. Our epistle reading comes from Galatians 5. It begins in verse 25 and runs into the 10th verse of chapter 6. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, and being one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, unless you too be tempted. There are one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone

32:48and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. To not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever one soes, that will he also reap. For the one who soes to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But the one who soes to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially those who are of the household of faith. St. Paul here addresses a crisis in the Galatian churches caused by agitators who insisted that Gentile converts must adopt mosaic ceremonial markers, specifically circumcision, and to do so in order to secure covenantal standing.

33:50In this passage that we have for our pretypied this week, the apostle to the Gentiles argues that reverting to the mosaic code as a means of perfection misunderstands God's redemptive timeline. Having been graciously justified by the gift of faith on account of Christ, the baptized, he says in verse 25, must keep in step with the Spirit, rather than relying on legalistic, ritual or falling into factional self-righteousness. By no means the circumcision mean anything. It's not even a bare sign of the covenant instituted by Christ. It has no salvific or meritorious value at all. Rather covenant fidelity is expressed not through physical circumcision, but through Christ's love, bearing one another's burdens, verse 2, gently restoring the fallen, verse 1, and supporting those who teach the Holy Word of God in Christ Jesus, verse 6, that is

34:51to say those who rightly interpret and teach the scriptures in accordance with our Lord. So St. Paul's practical exhortations flow from his apocalyptic vision that the life-death resurrection, ascension, and sacramental manifestation of Jesus Christ have invaded human history, breaking the power of this present evil age and inaugurating the kingdom of God. Christ's crucifixion rendered the world crucified to those baptized into Christ and the baptized person to the world, that's verse 14, old covenant age structures no longer defying God's people, only the new creation matters. And across establishes that epochal divide. Sewing to the Spirit, verse 8, means investing in the present reality of Christ inaugurated kingdom. The harvest of eternal life is both a present spiritual taste, but also a future bodily promise encouraging all of us not to grow weary and well doing, verse 9.

35:56These are the acts of mercy that are mentioned earlier, but even more so, vocational fidelity within one's family, faithful spouses, obedient and noble children, grandchildren continuing the Christian legacy of their elders. The moral imperative to walk in the Spirit rests upon our objective union with Christ, establish in holy baptism and sustain through the continuous sacramental life of the church, holy, absolution, holy communion, but also including holy matrimony. So having put on Christ in holy baptism, Galatians 3.27, we now possess the indwelling Spirit as members of a new creation of humanity, Christians, the descendants of the last Adam, Jesus. Walking by the Spirit is the living out of this baptismal reality where the old man of the flesh is daily crucified and the new man rises to live each day and every day. So loving the household of faith in verse 10 recognizes the church as the real visible

37:00body of Christ because believers are joined to the ascended Lord and receive His life through the Word in sacraments. Mutual burden bearing becomes the natural expression of Christian living with His life and within the Eucharistic assembly. Protristic and Lutheran commentators unite Galatians 6.2, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ and they do so with Eucharistic life of the church by treating the sacrament in the altar as both the source and the structural pattern of mutual burden bearing. And there are exegesis. The Eucharist is not merely an individual active devotion, but the place where Christ bears human sin and weakness, incorporating believers into the one mystical body that must carry one another's physical, spiritual and moral loads in derrily life. Luther once said that when he was most burdened emotionally and spiritually, it was at that

38:02point he would go to holy communion specifically because their Christ would defray His burdens horizontally bolstering His faith with the prayers of those with whom He shared the pat and the chalice. In his homelies on Galatians and homelies on 1 Corinthians, St. John, Christosum identified the law of Christ with Jesus' upper room mandate, a new commandment I give to you that you love on another as I have loved you John 13 verse 34. Christosum argues that at the Eucharistic table Christ distributes His body equally to all and without distinction of status. Therefore to receive the sacrament of the altar while refusing to bear a brother's spiritual fall or poverty, Galatians 6, 1 contradicts the very nature of the Eucharistic assembly. It's for this reason that we have the exchanging the peace that frequently takes place in the divine service, getting right with our brother, connecting with them, understanding that this

39:04Eucharistic engagement not only has a vertical dimension but also a horizontal. So St. Augustine of Hippo says this, it is Eucharistic sermons and writings on Galatians. He presents the Eucharistic bread. Many grains pressed together into a single loaf as the sacrament of unity. Augustine links Galatians 6, 2 to Communio because Christ took on the crushing burden of human mortality in the incarnation and offers Himself in the supper. Christians now fulfill the law of Christ by becoming what they receive, a single burden-bearing body in the world and this strongly accords with Luther's own sentiment and practice. And then Cyril of Alexandria, he emphasizes the ontological transformation that's affected by the Eucharist. By partaking of Christ's life-giving flesh, we believers are infused with divine charity, love. Converting Paul's commanding Galatians 6, 2 from an impossible legal duty into the organic

40:10fruit of the sacramental union. So in the blessed sacrament of the holy and true body of Christ written by Luther in 1519, he bases his Eucharistic theology specifically on Galatians 6, 2. He asserts that, quote, the joyous exchange occurs in the Holy Supper end quote. Christ takes on Himself the believer sin, suffering and death while imparting his righteousness and life. Luther repeatedly quotes this verse to demonstrate that this exchange must flow into the congregation, just as Christ bears our burdens in the sacrament, communicans are bound to bear the physical poverty, spiritual weakness, and moral stumbles of their fellow brothers. See as you uphold all of them so that all in turn uphold you and so fulfill the law of Christ. And then lastly, I want to mention Johann Gerhard and Martin Chemnitz, because they also tied Galatians 6, 2 to the doctrine of the mystical union and the communion of the saints

41:16rooted in the Holy Mass. They argue that the Eucharist is the engine of Churchly mercy, because all communicans receive the same Christ, private ownership of resources, winds up yielding to mutual stewardship, requiring the Church to care for the second, for the poor and the spiritually distressed, as a direct liturgical obligation. And so we see from both patristic and Lutheran traditions, the liturgy does not end with the dismissal at the altar. Rather, the reception of Christ's physical body and blood equips and obligates the Church to function as Christ's hands and shoulders in this world, bearing one another's burdens as the lived external manifestation of the Eucharistic fellowship that was created at his table. Dr. John Bambaro is our guest. We will be talking about the Gospel reading in Matthew 6 and Jesus' words, do not be anxious next.

42:21This week on The Word of the Lord Endors Forever, we finish up Proverbs 23 and 24 with, do not withhold discipline, women and wine. The scoffer is an abomination, the drippings of the honeycomb and sayings of the wise. Join me, Pastor Will Weeden, for the Word of the Lord Endors Forever, your daily 15-minute verse by verse 5, we'll study on demand. Listen at thewordendors.org or your favorite podcast provider. What can we learn about the worship practices of the first Lutherans from a Reformation edict by a Calvinist leader? Find out in Will Weeden's column in the latest issues etc. journal. We'll send it to you for free. Just click the red journal subscription button at issuesetc.org and enter your email address.

43:25In the Wittenberg Trail feature, Pastor Michael Hughes writes about his journey from progressive Lutheranism to confessional Lutheranism. The issues etc. journal, subscribe for free at issuesetc.org. Criticism. Make God that this 501 in the show is over. Commentation. I am not a Lutheran, but I regularly listen to issues etc. and thank you for putting this on the air. Conundrum. A Catholic friend has come to our LCMS church and he said, why do you say very God, a very God? And I couldn't think of a good answer. The issues etc. comment line 618-223-8382 Confessional Lutherans are invited to rent a four bedroom, three bathroom, table rock, lake front home in the Ozarks. Table rock lake is a premier lake in the heart of the Ozarks for boating, water sports and

44:27fishing. This log cabin style rental sleeps 12 and is 30 minutes from Branson and 20 minutes from Silver Dollar City. More and more by calling Swanson Estates 713-855-2681. Be sure to mention issues etc. 713-855-2681. The moment we realize Christide for all people, it's only then that we will truly understand the depth of what it means for Christ to die for us personally. Yes, the Jewish people crucified their own Messiah, but as that Messiah died on the cross, among his last words were, Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing. Jesus is praying not just for the Jews, but also for us. That's from the issues etc. A book of the month for September, it's a book by Dr. Andrew Doss, a regular guest

45:28here on the program. It's called Dinner with the Doctor. It walks through devotionaly. Many of the highlights of Luke's Gospel find out more about Dinner with the Doctor by calling Concordia Publishing House 1-800-325-3040 or browse before you buy at issuesetc.org. Dr. John Bambaro is our guest. We are looking forward to Sunday morning, according to the one your electionary. Our Gospel reading is Matthew 6, beginning at verse 24. No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. It's not life more than food and the body more than clothing. Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

46:30Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all of his glory was not a raid like one of these. But if God so closed the grass of the field, which today is alive, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, or you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. And therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow. For tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Suffice for the day is its own trouble.

47:31I think here we have the hermeneutical key for Trinity 15, gathering the Old Testament, narrative, the epistle, the Psalter, into a unified revelation of divine providence, and freedom, a freedom from earthly worry. From first kings 17, we see that Christ declaration that God closed the lilies and feed the birds, and provides this theological foundation for the widow's trust, her willingness to leave her last morsel of bread before seeing the outcome is the libed Old Testament prefiguration of seeking first the kingdom of God. Then in Galatians 5, all the way to 610, St. Paul's warning against sowing to the flesh, directly parallels Christ's warning against serving Maman, choosing the spirit over worldly and self-preservation translates Christ's call for undivided allegiance into the life of the post-resurrection church, something to which we are all called and to which we

48:32all participate. And then there is the Psalmist admonition in Psalm 146 against placing trusted mortal princes. This is now fulfilled in Christ's command to rely fully on the Heavenly Father who feeds the hungry, releases the captives, sustains all creation. Now let's spend just a little more time seeing how the Old Testament lesson terminates in this gospel. In first kings Elijah acts as the servant prophet mediating God's miraculous relief. In Matthew 6, 24 to 34, Jesus speaks not merely as an emissary, but as the incarnate son and divine provider himself where Elijah brought God's promise to a single household inside on, Christ reveals the universal fatherhood of God commanding his disciples to abandon anxiety because the creator who closed the lilies directly sustains human life and will sustain them.

49:33Elijah's requirement to make me a small cake from it first in 1 Kings 1713 tested whether the widow could place God's prophet above immediate self preservation. Christ fulfills this demand in Matthew 6, 33, seek first the kingdom of God in this righteous this and all these things will be added to you. Christ reveals Himself as the personal embodiment of that kingdom, making devotion to Himself the fulfillment of Elijah's command. Now the jar of flour that was not spent in the jug of oil that didn't fail serve as that Old Testament prefiguration of holy baptism in the sacrament of the altar as I mentioned earlier. In Matthew 6, 25 and 31, Christ instructs believers to cease anxious grasping for worldly food in the Eucharist. The church presents simple elements of bread and wine when believers prioritize the kingdom.

50:36Christ converts these offerings into the inexhaustible bread of life feeding the faithful throughout the famine of earthly existence without ever being depleted. The widow of Zarifath was gathering wood to prepare that final meal before dying, get her obedience to the prophet transformed her doom into sustained life through bread and oil. She experiences a kind of regeneration, a mini resurrection. So to in Matthew 6, 25 Christ asked, is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Sacramentally, we get better food and clothing that is Christ Himself. We literally consume Him who is the bread of life and the drink of God being clothed in His righteousness as St. Paul says. All of us who have been baptized in the Christ have put on Christ. So modern anxiety fundamentally stems from the burden of self-preservation, functional self-reliance and hyper individualistic demand to secure identity, status and future in an

51:42unpredictable, unstable world slouching strongly toward dehumanization. But seeking the kingdom of God in His righteousness addresses this at its root and stabilizes life. And grounds are identity in the authentic human Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, true Son of Mary. And the righteousness that our Lord commands us to seek isn't an exhausting moral checklist like in Islam or Mormonism, much less, is it a ever-shifting one like within liberalism or legalism, but rather it is Christ Himself. Received as a free gift through His Holy Ministry, Christ's righteousness liberates us from the anxiety of endless performance and impossible self-justification. And then lastly, serving Maman requires perpetual vigilance because wealth and human control cannot guarantee life or peace. Elon Musk, just like Tiberius Caesar or John Rockefeller, will leave this world with nothing,

52:44not a nickel. The only things that were permitted to leave this life with is our holy faith and great family loves that last forever, but only if you are united to the forever one Himself Christ Jesus. So seeking Christ, that is to say, the righteousness of His kingdom re-anchors both identity and hope in an unshakable kingdom converting daily material needs from existential threats into matters that are overseen by a loving Father and a self-sacrificing King. With about a minute here, what would you say of the Him, what God ordains is always good? This is, I think, really important text for us. It was first published in 1676 and the tune in 1690. And from here, it has developed a notable musical legacy, Johann Pockabell composed an organ partita based on this tune in 1683. Pock drew upon it heavily on this hymn using it across several cantatas and then Catherine

53:48Winkworth translated into English in 1865 under the title, whatever my God ordains is right. Agreeable to the themes of Trinity 15, that is to say total trust in God's fatherly care and freedom from worldly anxiety, the hymn amplifies the message from the Holy Gospel. The hymn mirrors Jesus' teaching not to be anxious and it does so stand by stand by confessing that God will never deceive me, quoting to him now, and suffers not to do harm to me. Singing this hymn is an exercise in replacing anxiety with reliance on God's good will in Christ Jesus that the Lord has good for us and does good to us. Dr. John Bambaro is senior pastor of St. James Lutheran Church in Lafayette, Indiana. He's a Navy chaplain serving the US Marine Corps and author of the new book, Prex Eucharistica,

54:49Prayers of Preparation and Thanksgiving for Holy Communion. John, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate the opportunity, Todd. Now or two of issues, et cetera, Pastor Peter Bender will be alongside. He's director of the Concordia Catechetical Academy. We'll be looking forward to Sunday morning, according to the three-year electionary and Luther's Catechism, the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. I'm Todd Wilkin. Stay tuned. Listen weekday afternoons to Pastor Todd Wilkin and guests on issues, et cetera. Issues, et cetera, is a listener-supported program. Your financial support is vital for the continuation and expansion of this worldwide outreach. Our mailing address issues, et cetera. PioBox 83 Collinsville, Illinois, 62234.

55:51Box 83 Collinsville, Illinois, 62234. You can also donate at our website, issuesetc.org. Issues, et cetera, is a production of LPR Lutheran Public Radio. Repentance and forgiveness, sin and grace, law and gospel. More than clichés, real preaching for real people in need of hearing the real Christ. Christ for you in the divine service at St. Paul Lutheran Church of Hamil, Illinois, where we gather every Saturday night at 6 and on the Lord's Day Sunday mornings at 7.45 and 10. Look for the church of the neon cross on I-55 between exits 30 and 33. Find us on the web, st. Paul LutheranChurchHamil.org. Find Paul Lutheran Church of Hamil, where there is the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation for the people of God.