Congregation at Prayer

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 27: A Prayer of Faith and Confidence in the Lord’s Salvation

Psalm 27 begins with two rhetorical questions that rest upon confident assertions of faith in the Gospel.  It is as if David were saying, “since the Lord is my light and my salvation, then whom shall I fear?”  Answer: No one!  “Since the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  Answer: No one!  Clearly it is the Lord’s will that we know with certainty that He is our Savior from all sin, death, and from the power of the devil.  Since He has died for us and redeemed us from eternal destruction, we have nothing to fear from anyone or anything that would seek to destroy us!  Psalm 27 prays for the Lord’s help, deliverance, guidance, and forgiveness on the basis of everything that Jesus has done in love for us.  Christ is our confidence.  To hear and receive Christ is also the singular delight of the Christian: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”

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Catechesis Notes for the Week — Psalm 47: A Prayer on the Ascension of Our Lord—Psalm 47 is traditionally prayed in celebration of the Ascension of Our Lord.  After Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the power of the devil through His suffering and death upon the cross, God the Father highly exalted Him and seated Him at His right hand, placing all His enemies under His feet.  Christ continues to reign over all things at the Father’s right hand for the sake of His Church and He will come again in glory to receive His bride to Himself.  So we sing with the psalmist: “God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.  God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.”

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Catechesis Notes for the Week — To Youth— “Submission” and “humility” are not terms that any of us naturally gravitate toward. The sinful flesh wants to submit to no one and is filled with arrogance and pride. If the sinful flesh doesn’t get its way, it rebels. Where does the will to “submit” and “humble one’s self” come from? It comes from faith in the Gospel. Our Lord Jesus submitted Himself as a young man, because He trusted in His Father who promised to do good through His submission. He humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross because, He trusted His Father to do good through His suffering. When youth are admonished to submit to their elders and humble themselves before them, they are really being invited to trust God to do them good in their office as youth, even though they may have to endure things that they don’t agree with or enjoy. The way of faith is always the way of deference toward others. This we learn to believe through the faithful reception of the Gospel and Sacrament of our Lord.  [Reprinted from Lutheran Catechesis: Catechist Edition]

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CP220508     Catechesis Notes for the Week — Justified by Faith— “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). “A sinner is ‘justified’ or ‘declared righteous’ by faith in Christ’s death for him. He is not forgiven or justified by the good works he performs (or attempts to perform) according to the Law. Our works cannot save us because we are all sinners and even the best of our works are still tainted with sin. Christ’s death for us, in our place, and on our behalf under the Law, is the ‘righteousness of faith’ that saves us from all sin, the condemnation of the law, and eternal death. As Christians we confess: ‘Christ is my righteousness. He has died for me. He has suffered in my place. He has fulfilled the Law for me by dying in my place. He has fulfilled the Law for me by dying in my place. He is my salvation.’” – Excerpt from Lutheran Catechesis, Catechist Edition, p. 70b.

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart— “To ‘fear, love, and trust in God above all things’ means that we trust in Him for everything we are and need for life and salvation. To trust in God above all things means that we yield our own reason, will, and understanding to Him precisely because all our faculties are corrupted by the self-centered, sinful perversions of the flesh. Faith is the living trust of the heart that relies on, depends upon, and looks to the Lord for everything. Faith yields to the Lord in all circumstances of life and confesses that the Lord’s will is always good and always right. The Lord promises to ‘direct’ or ‘make smooth’ our paths as we rely upon Him through faith in His Word. This does not mean that life will go the way that we desire; it rather means that our faith and life will rest confidently in the sure promises of God’s Word.”—Excerpted from Lutheran Catechesis, Catechist Edition, p. 38b

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