Preparing for Worship - September 10, 2023

The Scriptures this week call us to repentance for our sins, but also to caring for others and calling others to repentance and faith.

The Old Testament lesson is from Ezekiel 33:7-9. The city of Jerusalem had fallen to Babylonian invaders, because of the sin and rebellion of the Israelites (Ezekiel 33:21). Ezekiel’s work as a prophet was not done, though. He was called by the Lord to continue to be a watchman, speaking words God had given him and warning people to turn from their evil ways or they will die in their iniquities, their sins. The Lord still always wants people, including the Israelites, to turn back to Him and be forgiven and live in Him (Ezekiel 33:10-12).

The psalm is Psalm 32:1-7, one of the penitential psalms of David, where he speaks of repenting for his sins and rejoicing in God’s forgiveness. When he tried to hide his sins, David was miserable, “groaning” day and night, and feeling that his “strength was dried up.” Finally, he “confessed his transgression to the Lord” - and how “blessed” was God’s forgiveness for him. He had been trying to hide from God, but now God was his “hiding place,” his place of “deliverance” and “preservation.” David uses three words for wrongdoing: “transgression” (stepping beyond the boundaries God has set for our lives); “sin” (trying to do what God wants but missing the mark He sets for us); and “iniquity” (the unevenness in our life, where we sometimes do right and then turn right around and do wrong and are guilty). How good it was that David could bring His sins to the Lord, and “the Lord would count no iniquity against him.” (See how part of this psalm is quoted by Paul in Romans 4:1-8, too, as he emphasizes that we are counted righteous by faith, “apart from works.”)

In the Gospel lesson, Matthew 18:1-20. the disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” - probably thinking about their own greatness. Jesus puts a little child in their midst and calls them to have humble, childlike trust in the Lord. There is greatness, and how tragic it would be to lead astray one of these little ones who has faith. They have guardian angels and should not be despised. Watch out for anything, Jesus also adds, that could lead you or others into temptation, and avoid such things. Jesus also talks about His care for those who are lost and straying, like sheep, and those already guilty of wrongdoing, and provides a process for dealing with them, within the church, called church discipline and the Office of the Keys and Confession. The goal is always for people to be brought to repentance for their sins and forgiveness and renewed faith and fellowship within the church.

The Epistle lesson is Romans 13:1-10. As we heard last week, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19). A day of final judgment will come. In the meantime, God has provided government as a way of keeping basic order and authority in our sinful world. Government “is the servant of God, an avenger, who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” We are therefore to “be subject to the governing authorities” and “pay our taxes” and “revenues,” and give “respect” and “honor” where it is owed. In our personal lives, we are called again to “love one another.” Many of the 10 Commandments can be summarized in the words, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.” Here is where the repentance and forgiveness talked about in the other readings come in, as we look in the “mirror” of those commandments and realize that we have done wrong or others have done wrong, also. That is why Jesus died for us all, so that we can give and receive such real forgiveness through Him.