Monday in the 10th week of Pentecost
Daily readings
Joshua 7:1-13 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 26:36-46Morning and evening Psalms
73 74-76Higher Things“He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.” (2 Samuel 22:34)
David sang these words when the Lord had delivered him from the wrath of King Saul. The Unjust Steward was slashing the bill of David’s sin and paying it in full. David responded to this divine service with thanks and praise, here comparing himself to a deer that God has placed secure on the heights.
A few years ago, I preached the hardest funeral I have had in over ten years of ministry. Zach was a high school junior, as well as a catechumen (along with his parents), attending our Divine Services and Catechesis, preparing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil.
One cold November Sunday morning, he did not return from deer hunting in time for the Divine Service, and his family knew something was wrong. Zach had never hunted that morning; the truck he was in hit a slick patch of road and crashed into a tree. He was killed instantly.
While the event was truly horrible, the Lord worked through this situation to draw the rest of the family closer to Jesus. Grandparents who heard Zach speak of this newfound faith joined family in catechesis.
Our Father in heaven made Zach’s feet “…like the feet of a deer and set [him] secure on the heights.” Even though he had not been in church all his life – even though Zach had never been baptized or tasted the Lord’s Supper, God gathered him to Himself that day.
How is that? Doesn’t God work through means? Yes, dear Christian friends, the Lord delivers His mercy and slashes our debts through His Gifts. With Zach, Baptism and Supper were not enjoyed on this earth. However, the powerful, holy, and saving Word of Christ was delivered to him through Divine Services and Catechesis. The Lord’s “strong Word did cleave the darkness,” and fruits of that Word were showing in the life of this young man who was eager to learn more!
Knowing how he craved to know more of His Savior, it hurt that Zach was unable to complete his initial catechesis and dine at the Lord’s Table in our congregation. On the other hand, how amazing it is – Christ prepared Zach in this life with His saving Gospel! Then, He gathered him to Himself to receive the unending feast at the heavenly banquet table!
The one who had left to hunt deer that morning was now like a deer, secure in the heavenly heights, feasting on the undeserved goodness and mercy of the Unjust Steward. There, he joyfully began receiving the unending happiness of all forgiven debtors, eternally receiving Christ.
Not one of us deserves the mercy of the Great Steward. That is a truth that Zach was learning from the saving Gospel of our Lord. But now he knows fully that Jesus our Great Steward wants to deliver you from your enemies of sin, death, and the devil and give you His eternal pleasure. “He made [your] feet like the feet of a deer and set [you] secure on the heights.”