Thursday in the First Week After Trinity
“O God, the Strength of all those who put their trust in You, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing, grant us the help of Your grace that in keeping Your commandments we may please You both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.” (Collect for Trinity 1)
In the Name of Christ. Amen. There are any number of terms used in Scripture that describe the strength of our God. He is called a fortress; He stretches out His mighty arm to protect His people. He weighs mountains on a balance.
There are times to fear that strength, such as when you are a pharaoh trying to destroy God’s chosen people, or when you are a soldier in the army of Midian. But one doesn’t always need to fear the strength of God.
In Sunday’s collect, we prayed that God would use His strength to help us. God certainly is our strength. Without that strength, without His help, we could never accomplish what He sets out for us to do.
Not that we try to earn some brownie points from Him. Rather, we need His help in our service to Him and His kingdom where He has placed us. Whether it is as a student, a worker, or whatever else we might be in our life on earth, we ask for God’s strength to make it through each and every day.
Doing good is never our strong suit. Our sinful nature takes over on too many occasions (every occasion, maybe?) and causes us to really foul things up. But because we are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus, and because we have been made a new creation in the waters of Holy Baptism, we have a way out.
Because we are a new creature in Christ, we can call out for God to pour out His grace so that we can keep His commandments. We can pray that Christ in us would not get trapped behind our bungling, but shine as the Light in our dark world so that we might please God in all things.
Because we have been forgiven and washed clean by the blood of our crucified Lord, we can call out to our God in all things so that we can be the children of God He has called us to be. Amen.
“Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!” (TLH #246, v.4)Daily Lectionary
Proverbs 21:30-22:6 1 Timothy 4:1-16 Matthew 13:24-30