Jesus was born to walk the lonely path of the cross. Many people walked with Jesus as He journeyed to that cross but many of them did not stay with Him. Today, we are called to see how our Lord walked in our path to the cross so that we might walk with Him in faith---not some meandering stroll but the walk of disciples who follow the Lord Jesus, where He has forged the way. We also pray that we may not wander away but endure to eternal life.
LCMS Lectionary Summary
Christ Jesus Has Paid the Cost of Discipleship for You
A disciple of Jesus Christ will “carry his own cross” (Luke 14:27) and follow the Lord through death into life. Discipleship is costly because it crucifies the old man with “all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33), in order to raise up the new man in Christ. The disciple disavows “his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life” (Luke 14:26), in deference to Christ. That way of the cross is impossible, except that Christ Jesus has already paid the cost. His cross is set before you as “life and prosperity, and death and adversity” (Deut. 30:15). Taking up His cross is to “choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him” (Deut. 30:19–20). To live that life in Christ is also to bear His cross in love, “that your goodness should not be as it were by compulsion, but of your own free will” (Philemon 14).
PRE-SERVICE MEDITATION
Philemon: Putting the Best Construction on Everyone
As you read Philemon, reflect on the roles of Law and Gospel in your relationships with others. God calls us to extend His mercy toward every repentant heart and to build up one another in His love. The difficult circumstances for Philemon illustrate how God in Christ can transform our service and relationship to one another.
Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good---no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord. Philemon 15-16
Philemon gives us a peek at how the early Christians tried to look at one another. One of the central characters of this letter was a runaway slave named Onesimus. Slaves who ran away were worse than outcasts. In fact, if Onesimus had been caught by someone other than Paul, he could have lost his life. But God led him to a person who had not given up on him. God does the same today when He leads people the world has given up on into our church. God doesn't look only at their sins and shortcomings; He looks at their God-given potential and calls us to help them realize it. People who run away from their responsibilities can have their lives changed by people who love them, take risks for them, and put the best construction on them. As church members, God has called us to help the Onesimuses of the world. The list of Onesimuses in the Bible is long, including the following: Abraham, Moses, David, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and Paul. God put the best construction on each of them. Many have been led to believe they don't measure up to society's expectations. We pray that God sends these people to us and that we may say to their spouses, children, or friends, "Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good."
Prayer
Almighty Creator, You love everyone. You sent Christ to die for my sins so You can put the best construction on my life. Help me to put the best construction on every person I meet. In Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen.
Text adapted from The Lutheran Study Bible, Edward Engelbrecht, ed., copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House and Because God Called Me: Devotions for Church Workers, Tom Rogers, copyright © 1999 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
OLD TESTAMENT:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (The Lord calls upon His people to walk in His ways and keep His Word.)
15"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
EPISTLE:
Philemon 1-21
(Paul's letter
commending the slave
Onesimus back to his
master not only as a
slave but as a
brother in the
Lord.)
Greeting
1Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. 7For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Paul’s Plea for Onesimus
8Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, 9yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
25
The grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ be
with your spirit.
