Worship Service on 8/28/2022

A SEAT AT THE TABLE: “Not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who exe-cutes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” (Psalm 75:6–7). Yet we try constantly to exalt, to lift up, ourselves. This Sunday’s readings warn us against such foolishness. More important, they assure us that such self-exaltation is unnecessary, because in Christ God does indeed lift us up. Both the Old Testament Reading and the Epistle for this Sunday relate to the Gospel, but in very different ways. The Old Testament Reading from Proverbs gives a literal application to Jesus’ parable about taking the best seat at the banquet hall. Jesus, though, has a bigger picture in view as he draws upon the proverb. He, the “Son of God, eternal Savior,” though “throned in glory,” “lived for others” (LSB 842) so that we are called up higher to eternal glory. The Epistle from Hebrews picks up on the theme of humility and extends it in several practical ways, including the topics of hospitality, marriage, greed, and church leadership. “Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility.”