October 2, 2024

Today's Reading: James 5:1-12, 13-20

Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 3:1-29; Matthew 7:1-12

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:13-15)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Christianity is often presented as the way to a trouble-free life. All you have to do is give your heart to Jesus, and all life’s problems will simply disappear. If any problems remain after a person converts, then that is their fault. Their conversion was not real, and their faith was feigned. Real Christians, according to these people, do not have problems. This kind of teaching simply does not hold up to any kind of scrutiny. Plenty of Christians have suffered real problems and suffered them with real, genuine faith. God never promised His people a carefree life. Look again at our passage from James.

Luther is known for calling the Epistle of James a “book of straw,” but it is almost like he read the passage quoted above when, in the Large Catechism, he asks the question: “What is God? A ‘god’ is the term for that to which we are to look for all good and in which we are to find refuge in all need.” James says much the same thing when those who are suffering are told to pray, and the cheerful are told to sing praise. This shows that God is present with you in both good times and bad. Christians can suffer and rejoice. Christians can, in any of life’s circumstances, turn to God.

Ultimately, this is because the circumstances of this life, whether good or bad, do not change the promises that He has made to His people. None of the circumstances of this life change the reality of your resurrection. The language about saving the sick doesn’t mean that if you get sick and pray, you will be healed. The prayer of faith cannot diagnose, treat, or cure any disease. Instead, the prayer of faith clings to the promise of God that in the resurrection of Jesus is the resurrection of all believers. Your sins have been forgiven, you are saved, and even should you die, the Lord will raise you up. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Still Your children wander homeless; Still the hungry cry for bread; Still the captives long for freedom; Still in grief we mourn our dead. As, O Lord, Your deep compassion Healed the sick and freed the soul, Use the love Your Spirit kindles Still to save and make us whole. (LSB 848:2)

-Rev. Grant Knepper, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church Modesto, California.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.

In Embracing Your Lutheran Identity, Author Gene Edward Veith Jr. will guide readers through that heritage, starting with the Early Church and moving through the Reformation to Lutheranism today. Readers will learn about key people in the history of Lutheranism, from two teenagers who were the first martyrs of the Reformation, through the Saxon immigrants who left everything behind so they could practice Lutheranism freely, to the Lutherans who have stood strong for the faith in our own day.