LESSON: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:11-15

“Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.” Luke 5:10

This is an evangelical word by which weak hearts may obtain consolation. We have seen in this Gospel how God looks after our bodily needs. He provided Peter with so many fish when he would have probably had enough with two or so. God also fills Peter so richly spiritually that he should have enough also in this respect to share it with others. He makes Peter a fisherman both bodily and spiritually. In a bodily manner, Peter catches so many fish that he can sell them; spiritually, however, he is to become a fisher of men, for he has the Gospel with which he is to bring in others and extend the kingdom of Christ.

When men come to faith, God gives them so much that they are in a position to help all men, outwardly with their property and goods, and from their spiritual resources they are equipped to teach others and make them rich inwardly. When men come to faith, they must proclaim it to others and tell other of their experiences.

The psalmist knew all about this when he wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee” (Psalm 51:10-13).

When I believe, I come to know God. Then I also see what others are lacking and proceed to proclaim the Gospel to them. I am in a position as a believer to feed the hungry both bodily and spiritually.

SL 11:1312 (21-23)

PRAYER: Thanks and praise be Yours, heavenly Father, for the riches of both bodily and spiritual blessings which You continue to shower upon us. Grant us the insights to use all these blessings to relieve the needs of our neighbors and for the glory of Your kingdom, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: PSALM 143

If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 130:3-4

When you feel your sins and become like Peter with a desire to run away from God, you must turn around and get closer and closer to Him. For if God were disposed to flee from you and were not willing to take away your sins, He would never have come to you or pursued you. Therefore, the more you feel that you are a sinner, and the more you want to run away from God, the more importunately you should seek Him.

Mark this well! For as St. Peter reacted here, so all consciences react in fear because of their sins, trying to escape from God and seeking some false god. Do not end your struggle like this. You cannot possibly end it like this. Present a bold front and cling to God. Otherwise, when you run off in search of works to seek help with another god, and then later want to come back to the true God, you may well have the same experience that the foolish virgins had after going off to buy oil for their lamps, returning only to find the doors locked (Matthew 25:10).

But what did Jesus do after Peter had humbled himself to such an extent that, in great fear and terror, he requested the Lord to depart from him? Did He allow Peter to remain in his despondency? By no means! He proceeded to comfort Peter with the words, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10).

SL 11:1311 (18-20)

PRAYER: It is Your assurance, heavenly Father, that the more we feel our sins, the nearer we always are to the forgiveness of sins. Keep us ever steadfast in our faith and hope that You will help and save us, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: ROMANS 5:18-21

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken. Luke 5:8-9

We may take Peter here as an example of those who are to believe in the eternal blessings and actually see them. A sinful conscience is by nature so constituted that it does what Peter does here, it flees from its Savior and thinks, “I am not worthy of being saved and sitting among the saints and angels. The experience of all this good is too much for me.” The straitened conscience cannot comprehend the greatest of blessings but thinks as follows, “If I were like St. Peter or St. Paul, I might be able to believe it all.”

This is all very foolish, for if you wanted to take your stand on your own holiness, you would be building on sand. Do not do this but follow St. Peter. In regarding himself quite unworthy of such grace, he is really proving his worthiness.

It is just because you are a sinner, and realize this fact, that you must trust yourself entirely to God’s grace. You must open up your conscience to its widest extent and let your heart swell so that grace may enter in.

SL 11:131 (16)

PRAYER: We thank and praise You, heavenly Father, for Your friendly approach to us sinners and for the wonderful riches of Your goodness toward us. May this ever be an incentive and an invitation to us to draw even closer to You and readily accept Your grace whenever it is offered to us. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: ROMANS 8:31-39

Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. Romans 5:5

God’s children must learn to combine their works with hope. God can delay results and sometimes deems it fitting to do so. If God keeps you in suspense for a time and lets you work in the sweat of your brow without immediate result, do not straightway conclude that your work has been in vain. You must be wise, learn to recognize your God, and know how to put your trust in Him. In the end, He will make His presence felt for you and give you more than you need.

If God keeps you in suspense for a time, say to yourself: “St. Peter was also kept in suspense for a time and later endowed with rich gifts.” So, entrust the matter to His good and gracious will and do not lose hope, and your works will become golden and acceptable to Him.

Hope waits patiently and perseveres when God delays His help and does not intervene as soon as we would prefer it. He has to make additional contribution here and hang some costly stones on your works to make them important. The most precious stone is faith, but the works of unbelievers are of straw. They are not built on faith.

SL 11:1309 (14)

PRAYER: Your promises and assurances to us, heavenly Father, are always sure and certain. May we always work in the certain hope that, when it is best for us, You will help us and bestow rich blessings on us, in and through Christ our Savior. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: 2 THESSALONIANS 3:6-13

When he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4

Jesus says here in effect: “Let down your nets and do the work that belongs to a fisherman and let Me do the worrying. I do not want you to worry but to work.” We always want to change this procedure. We want to do the worrying and let Him do the work. This is one reason why so much usury is practiced today. Men want to make money to avoid the necessity of working.

If you want to live like a real Christian, leave the worrying to your God. Let Him bring the fish into the net, and you take up a position in which you have to work. All of us would prefer positions in which we do not have to work. For this attitude, the devil is responsible. There was only one reason why such large numbers formerly became monks and priests: we all wanted to live like aristocrats and avoid the necessity of work. Parents even sent their children to school so that they might subsequently enjoy good days in the service of God. In the end, no one really knew any longer what good days were.

God has indicated that it is His pleasure that man should eat his bread in the sweat of his brow, and He has therefore ordered man to work. He said to Adam, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). The more closely you stick to God’s law in this respect, the better it is for you. Do your work in faith and let God freely exercise His government.

SL 11:1308 (10-11)

PRAYER: It is your will, heavenly Father, that Your children here on earth should be honest and reliable workers in whatever calling or position You may place them. May we ever remember that it is Your will that we should work in faith and trust to Your governance of all times, in and through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: LUKE 12:13-21

Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:23-24

Paul gives a vivid description of what happens when men give way to unbelief (1 Timothy 6:6-10). The man who is solely bent on piling up earthly possessions and becoming rich falls into temptations and snares of the devil. This cannot be seen; it is something spiritual. If we could really see the damage that the devil does in spiritual things in the same degree that we can see the damage he does in bodily matters, we would really have something to preach about. For we have external evidence of how an unbelieving man keeps on scraping earthly property together, doing violence to every man so that he may have no opposition and stand alone in his scraping operations so that finally he may rely on what he has scraped together and say: “Now I have enough.”

What a mean and unfriendly thing this unbelief is! It does no one any good; it is friendly to no one; it considers nothing but its own advantage. It is certainly an accursed thing, this unbelief, refusing to trust God for the sake of our benefit and actually believing that, if we do not adopt all possible methods and procedures for ensuring our bodily welfare, even at the expense of our neighbor’s welfare, we will die of hunger.

SL 11:1306 (4-5)

PRAYER: Lord, You have shown us in very clear precept and example that we should never be greedy and covetous, but contented and generous. Fill our hearts with such trust in Your wonderful care and providence that we overcome all temptations to selfishness and use our blessings to help all in need, for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: LUKE 5:1-11

When they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish, and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:6-7

First of all, let us note here that those who believe in Christ will also have enough for their bodily needs. Christ attends to this matter here in supplying Peter and his partners with such a large number of fish, more than they would ever have dared to hope for.

We see here how Christ is genuinely concerned for the bodily welfare of His disciples. If only there were not so much accursed unbelief! Take the example of St. Peter in this Gospel. Look into his heart, and you will find that he did not reckon with the possibility of catching so many fish. But God intervenes here and brings the fish into the net in greater numbers than any of them had desired.

This example shows us that believers in Christ receive enough for their bodily needs. Unbelievers never have enough of anything. They never experience any real rest and are continually engrossed in the piling up of earthly possessions. This is how they become enmeshed in all kinds of harmful vices.

What Paul writes to Timothy is only too true: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

SL 11:1304 (2-3)

PRAYER: You have given us the strongest of assurances, heavenly Father, that You will always watch over the needs of all Your children, even the needs of their bodies. Grant us the grace of contentment so that we always receive Your blessings with thanksgiving and with real benefit to ourselves and our neighbor, in and through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:131-140.

LESSON: MATTHEW 7:1-5

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned.” Luke 6:37

Jesus is speaking here of uncharitable judging and condemnation, forming a good or bad opinion about something that cannot really be seen from the outside but is a judgement that only God can make. It can happen that you see your neighbor sinning on the one day, and God accepts him on the next day. You can also put on a very pious front and blot out all remembrance of your own sins.

Christ has forbidden judging, for there can be no love or unity where such judging and condemning is current among men. To judge or condemn another man is nothing else but having a log in one’s eye such as all hypocrites have in their eyes. Those who have the idea that their piety exceeds that of other men always find something wrong with their brethren. No matter what their brethren do, they find fault with it, but they cannot see their own sins.

If you see nothing but sin in others, without ever noticing the log in your own eye, you are falling under the judgement of God. You, who are so ready to judge and condemn another man, are a greater sinner before God than the worst scoundrel and the worst harlot, of whom God alone knows who is saved or condemned.

All sin that other men commit is as nothing when compared with the sin that you commit with your uncharitable judgement of others.

SL 11:1281 (26)

PRAYER: To you and to no one else, O God, belongs all judgment and condemnation. Keep us always aware of this basic fact whenever we are tempted to judge and condemn our neighbor in defiance of the love that we should always manifest to him, in and through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Editor’s note: No American Edition (AE) equivalent for today’s sermon excerpt exists at the time of this publication. For an alternate English translation of this sermon, see Lenker, Church Postil—Gospels, 4:97-110.