I come, O Savior, to Thy Table,
For weak and weary is my soul;
Thou, Bread of Life, alone art able
To satisfy and make me whole:
Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood
Be for my soul the highest good! (TLH 315:1)
The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity
“Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king” (Prov 25:6-14). Rather, take the lowest position at the table. Humble yourself before Him. For your place is not for you to take but for Him to give. Conduct yourself with all lowliness and gentleness, bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1-6), that the King may give you glory in the presence of those at the table with you. “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:1-11). Is this not the way of Christ? He is the one who took the lowest place, who humbled Himself even to the point of death for us. He is now exalted to the highest place at the right hand of the Father that penitent believers may be exalted together with Him in the resurrection. To the humble at His Supper He says, “Friend, go up higher,” giving you His very body and blood for your forgiveness that you may ascend to take part in the great wedding feast which has no end.
Introit: (Psalm 119:1-2, 5-6; antiphon: Psalm 119:137, 124)
Pastor: Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules.
Congregation: Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.
P: Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
C: Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
P: Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
C: Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
C: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
P: Righteous are you, O Lord, and right are your rules.
C: Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love, and teach me your statutes.
Collect of the Day
Lord, we implore You, grant Your people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow You, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
- Proverbs 25:6-14 +
Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, (7) for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen (8) do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? (9) Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, (10) lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end. (11) A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. (12) Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. (13) Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. (14) Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.
Gradual: (Psalm 33:12, 6)
Blessed is the nation whose God | is the Lord, *
the people whom he has chosen as his | heritage!
By the word of the Lord the hea- | vens were made, *
and by the breath of his mouth | all their host.+ Ephesians 4:1-6 +
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, (2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (3) eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (4) There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
- The Lutheran Confessions Responsive Reading: The Augsburg Confession (1530)+
P: What do we believe, teach, and confess of “The Lord’s Supper? (Art.X)
C: Our churches teach that the body and blood of Christ are truly present and distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper [1 Corinthians 10:16]. They reject those who teach otherwise.
P: What do we believe, teach, and confess of “Confession?” (Art. XI)
C: Our churches teach that private Absolution should be retained in the churches, although listing all sins is not necessary for Confession. For, according to the Psalm, it is impossible. “Who can discern his errors?” (Psalm 19:12).
P: What so we believe, teach, and confess of “Repentance”? (Art. XII)
C: Our churches teach that there is forgiveness of sins for those who have fallen after Baptism whenever they are converted. The Church ought to impart Absolution to those who return to repentance [Jeremiah 3:12].
P: Strictly speaking, what are the two parts of repentance?
C: One part is contrition, that is, terrors striking the conscience through the knowledge of sin. The other part is faith, which is born of the Gospel [Romans 10:17] or the Absolution and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven. It comforts the conscience and delivers it from terror. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruit of repentance [Galatians 5:22–23].
Verse: (Psalm 116:1)
P: Alleluia! I love the Lord,
C: because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Alleluia!
- Luke 14:1-11 +
One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. (2) And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. (3) And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” (4) But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. (5) And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” (6) And they could not reply to these things. (7) Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, (8) “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, (9) and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. (10) But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. (11) For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
