Judges 6:25-40
Acts 2:37-47
John 1:1-18
Psalms for today
Morning 140, 141 Evening 142, 143
Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church
Augustine was one of the greatest of the Latin church fathers and a significant influence in the formation of Western Christianity, including Lutheranism. Born in A.D. 354 in North Africa, Augustine's early life was distinguished by exceptional advancement as a teacher of rhetoric. In his book Confessions he describes his life before his conversion to Christianity, when he was drawn into the moral laxity of the day and fathered an illegitimate son. Through the devotion of his sainted mother Monica and the preaching of Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (339-397), Augustine was converted to the Christian faith. During the great Pelagian controversies of the 5th century, Augustine emphasized the unilateral grace of God in the salvation of mankind. Bishop and theologian at Hippo in North Africa from A.D. 395 until his death in 430, Augustine was a man of great intelligence, a fierce defender of the orthodox faith and a prolific writer. In addition to the book Confessions, Augustine's book City of God had a great impact upon the church throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. [From "Commemorations Biographies," Lutheran Service Book, LCMS Commission on Worship]
Today's Higher Things Reflection:
What was wrong with Cain’s offering? Why did the Lord regard Abel and his offering, while not regarding Cain’s? It wasn’t because the Lord likes meat more than veggies. According to the author of Hebrews, “…by faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts” (Heb. 11:4). It was because Abel offered his sacrifice in faith.
While the word “faith” is not in Genesis 4, Abel’s offering was a faith-born offering. Abel offered the best of all He had been given: “the firstborn of his flock.” Abel was a “keeper of sheep.” Cain was a “worker of the ground.” As a “keeper” of the vocation the Lord had given Him, Abel understood that the only offering He could offer was not his own creation. Abel’s sheep were a gift from the Lord. Having received it all as a gift from the Lord, how could Abel offer up anything less that the best, the firstborn?
Through your pastor the Lord speaks His Word to you every Sunday. As a baptized child of God, you are a “keeper” of the Lord’s Word. It is your own, but it comes from the Lord. In the Divine Service, having received the Lord’s Words, you speak back to Him the “firstborn” of your faith in hymns and prayer, the same words the Lord “first” spoke to you when you were baptized into His death and raised to life again in the water. When the offering plate comes your way, what you give is not merely the fruit of your labors. It is first-fruit of what the Lord has given you. The Lord gave you a vocation, probably not as a “keeper of sheep,” but perhaps as a son or daughter, a father or mother, a neighbor or friend, an employee or an employer. This is where the Lord has placed you as a “keeper” of what you have been given to do. Faith responds and offers back to the Lord acts of love for your neighbor. This is the faith-born fruit of what the Lord first gave you.
“The Lord had regard for Abel.” The Lord doesn’t need your praise, prayers, offerings, or service. The Lord’s kingdom “comes even without our prayer.” Nonetheless, the Lord has regard for what is given in faith. The Lord offered His “firstborn” Son, the “Lamb of God,” on the Cross. When faith clings to the Cross – the gift the Lord delivers to you in His Word and Sacraments – faith bears fruit that the Lord regards. He regards the “fruit of faith” not because these fruits themselves merit His favor, but because your offerings flow, in faith, from the One whom the Lord always regards: Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶ 8/28/2006 05:05:00 AM 0 Comments
