The Third Sunday after Pentecost A
The Third Sunday after Pentecost A
Jesus provides his disciples with a foretaste of their apostolic sending which he will make after his resurrection. Here, Jesus restricts their sending to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt. 10:6). At the future sending, Jesus puts no restriction on their sending but tells them to go to the ends of the earth. At this sending, Jesus instructs them to preach the presence of the kingdom of heaven (also known as the kingdom of God). Their preaching is to have the same content as Jesus’ preaching (cf. Mt. 9:35). At that future sending, those sent out are to bear witness to Jesus Christ for he is the presence of the kingdom of heaven. As the kingdom of heaven is preached to the lost sheep of Israel, its presence is established and its benefits realized. That is, the people receive the healing of their sicknesses and infirmities… they have death put behind them… their demons are cast out. The people receive these gifts without paying and without cost (witness the prophecy of Isaiah 55:1). Now to you… you receive the preaching of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom is established in your presence so that, in faith, you would receive the same benefits as those lost sheep of Israel: healing, newness of life, and freedom from demons. You have ears. May they be ears to hear the kingdom of heaven preached to you so that you might have such faith.
Prayers from one who’d establish the kingdom of heaven by his own work rather than having it established through the preaching of Christ, Him crucified, and Him alone…
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that I hear the preaching of Jesus Christ, Him crucified, and Him alone so that I do not look to the work of my hands to bring in the kingdom; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that as I hear the preaching of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit works through the means of grace to establish me in the faith so that the kingdom is now present to me; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that as I am established in faith by the Holy Spirit, I have no need to look to other gods or idols for reassurance or comfort; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that as other gods and idols are stripped from me I can look to the duties and tasks of my callings and vocations; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that in the midst of fulfilling my callings and vocations I may prove useful to my neighbors in the provision of their daily bread; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that the Institute of Lutheran Theology so fulfill its calling and vocation that Jesus Christ, Him crucified, and Him alone is preached into whatever ears are there to hear; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen
Father in heaven, you sent your one and only Son to establish your kingdom’s presence among us. Grant that during these days of my baptism, my ears are filled with your Word, Jesus Christ, by the preachers you have sent to me, so that my house and all who enter it would know your peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son, my Lord. Amen