St. Mark’s Lutheran

Readings
Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3
Galatians 3:1-14
Matthew 14:13-21

Meditation
The law and the gospel. That polarity is the bedrock Lutheran understanding. The reading from Ecclesiastes is law. The plight of men and women is to live and die in uncertainty. Even the oppressor has no one to comfort him. Evil multiplies. The law convicts and condemns and calls out the pointless nature of what we do - whether you believe in God or imagine Him to be gone. But God has not left us in that condition under the law. As Paul says in the Galatians reading, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.” That is the Gospel, free and clear, without any worthiness in us, God fulfilled the law in Christ for us. In the feeding of the 5000 Jesus tells his disciples, “They don’t need to go away, you give them something to eat.” The law counts and catagorizes and divides and comes so easily to us. The diciples responded we only have 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus, he fed the crowd until they were satisfied and there were 12 baskets left. The gospel is abundantly sufficient. We all feel the law, but as Christians we have good news, the gospel, which we can give free and clear when we share it with our neighbor.

Thanks be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for delivering us from the law and sustaining us with His Gospel.

Tags: Meditation //