46. January 2.
Lord Jesus, lead us
into the sanctuaries of thy word. Amen.
Luke 4, 16-21. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
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For us this scripture is, in truth, fulfilled. The Lord is here; the year of grace, the blessed time of the New Testament, is come. Hear the gospel, ye needy sinners; believe it, and rejoice. To be sure, you are miserably poor as to righteousness and holiness; but, in spite of this, you are now rich. In the Old Testament year of jubilee the law obtained, that every man was to have his inheritance returned to him. In the kingdom of Christ we receive anew the honor and glory of God together with sonship in him. You are sick; I understand very well how it is with you. But our Savior knows best what aches and pains there are in our sick heart and our depressed spirits; none understands us as well as he; for he was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. We are sick, but he is our physician, who has a remedy for every ill. It is a good thing that we feel our sickness; for only the sick are willing to call the physician. Jesus is the anointed priest and physician of the soul; and do you think, that the Lord God appointed one who was not capable to this office? He is to be relied on as absolutely as is God in heaven; for he is the everlasting God himself. Come to him where he has made an appointment with you, namely in the gospel, that is, in the Word and in the sacraments of baptism and the altar. When he says to you: You, who are baptized into me, have put on my righteousness; you, who eat and drink my body and blood, abide in me and I in you; you are free, and you have power to believe and power to serve me; — then he is near to you, nearer than anything else whatsoever; for what he speaks comes to pass. Therefore, by his grace you actually have power to believe; for he gives sight to the blind. Do you not see that you are a lost sinner, hopelessly in debt, and without ability to pay a farthing? Do you not see that you are unclean, diseased, and entirely covered with leprosy, and sold under sin? You have begun to see this. Who was it opened your eyes? Did you do it yourself? Look, then, and you will also see, that he has paid your debt, which has, therefore, been wiped out. Do you not see, that he dies, the righteous for the unrighteous; and do you not see with what unmistakable clearness this is written by God’s own finger in the gospel? See, also, that he has taken you into his church, which is his hospital for the healing of the sick. Understand, that you are with Jesus, and that you no longer are in the power of the devil; then your eyes do not deceive you; for this is truth, and the Lord has given you light to see it. But, alas, how perverted is our nature! In self-righteousness or in a feeling of proud indifference the sinners that dwell in fancied security despise the gospel; while they that have experienced a spiritual awakening want to be assured of the truth by the evidence of their senses before they believe. God gives us true humility, that we may be affrighted at our unbelief, which resists a truth so clear and a grace so ineffable. Here we are; the year of jubilee is begun; Jesus stands among us; the gospel is being preached; the fount of healing is flowing freely; the fetters are broken; the bandage has been taken from our eyes; — and yet we act as if we were blind! We are free, and yet we do not give thanks, but continue to sigh and complain!
Precious Lord Jesus, thy name be praised forevermore! This song of praise shall not die away; but thou wilt perform that which thou hast begun in us, and we will glorify thee forever. Grant this, we pray, of thy great, great mercy. Amen.*
O Christ, who diedst and yet dost live,
To me impart thy merit;
My pardon seal, my sins forgive,
And cleanse me by thy Spirit.
Beneath thy cross I view the day
When heaven and earth shall pass away,
And thus prepare to meet thee.
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.