Calendar

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: Numbers 6:22–27\rPsalm: Psalm 8; antiphon: v. 9\rEpistle: Galatians 3:23–29\rGospel: Luke 2:21\rIntroit: Psalm 40:6–8; antiphon: 40:16\rGradual: Hebrews 8:10; 10:17\rVerse: Matthew 1:21\r\rThe Lord Jesus Comes in the Flesh to Fulfill the Law for Us and Save Us from Our Sins\r \rCircumcision is the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed. It sealed God’s promises and blessings in the flesh, but also signified the burden of the Law. When the Lord Jesus came in the flesh to redeem His people, He subjected Himself to the Law, in order to fulfill the Law and release all men from its captivity. “He was called Jesus” (Luke 2:21) because He came to save His people from their sins. He would shed His blood on their behalf, as He did already when “he was circumcised” (Luke 2:21). As He also sacrificed Himself upon the cross, you are “justified by faith” in His blood (Gal. 3:24). Therefore, “you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29), not by the circumcision of your flesh, but in the flesh and blood of Christ Jesus, the true seed of Abraham. “Baptized into Christ,” you belong to Him and are clothed and covered by His righteousness (Gal. 3:27). Holy Baptism is the true circumcision made without hands, by which the Lord Jesus puts His name on you and blesses you (Num. 6:22, 27).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: 1 Kings 3:4–15\rPsalm: Psalm 119:97–104; antiphon: v. 99\rEpistle: Ephesians 1:3–14\rGospel: Luke 2:40–52\rIntroit: Psalm 147:1, 5, 11–12; antiphon: John 1:14\rGradual: Isaiah 9:6; Psalm 98:1a\rVerse: Luke 2:40\r\rThe Lord Jesus Is Found in the Temple of His Church\r \rThe Lord Jesus “grew and became strong” (Luke 2:40); He “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). As His body grew and developed, His mind also increased in knowledge and understanding. For as our brother in the flesh, that we might “have redemption through his blood” (Eph. 1:7), He lived by faith in the Word of His Father. Thus, He was catechized by His parents, who took Him up “to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (Luke 2:41); when He was of age, He gave attention to the Holy Scriptures in His Father’s house (Luke 2:46, 49). Christ Jesus is still found in His Church, in “the word of truth, the gospel,” by which we are adopted by His Father and sealed with His Spirit (Eph. 1:5, 13). Thus do we gain “an understanding mind” to go about our vocations, discerning “between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). And so do we also go up to Jerusalem, to stand “before the ark of the covenant of the Lord” (1 Kings 3:15), that is, in the Holy Communion of His body and blood.\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: Isaiah 60:1–6\rPsalm: Psalm 72:1–11; antiphon: v. 18\rPsalm: Psalm 72:1–15; antiphon: v. 18\rEpistle: Ephesians 3:1–12\rGospel: Matthew 2:1–12\rIntroit: Psalm 45:6–8a; antiphon: v. 17\rGradual: Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8\rVerse: Matthew 2:2b\r\rThe Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son\r \rThe Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas; yet, it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. While Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord — that is, on God becoming flesh — the season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh of Christ. The Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth — not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6). With gold, they confess His royalty; with incense, His deity; and with myrrh, His priestly sacrifice (Matt. 2:11).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: Isaiah 43:1–7\rPsalm: Psalm 29; antiphon: v. 3\rEpistle: Romans 6:1–11\rGospel: Luke 3:15–22\rIntroit: Psalm 2:7–11, 12c; antiphon: Isaiah 42:1a\rGradual: Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8\rVerse: Mark 1:11b\r\rThe Triune God Opens Heaven to You in Holy Baptism\r \rThe Baptism of our Lord is an “Epiphany” of the one true God in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. In divine mercy, He takes His place with sinners and takes their sin upon Himself. “When all the people were baptized,” Jesus submitted Himself to a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:21). He had no sins of His own, but He took the sins of the world upon Himself and so was baptized into His own death. Therefore, “when you pass through the waters,” He is with you (Is. 43:2). He created you for His glory, and He has redeemed you with His blood, that you may be His own and live with Him in His kingdom (Is. 43:1, 7). As you are baptized with a Baptism like His, so also are you united with Him in His death and resurrection that you “might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). For all who are baptized into Christ Jesus receive His anointing of the Holy Spirit and are named by His Father as beloved and well-pleasing sons and daughters.\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rFirst Reading: Acts 4:8–13\rPsalm: Psalm 118:19–29; antiphon: v. 26\rEpistle: 2 Peter 1:1–15\rGospel: Mark 8:27—9:1\rGospel: Mark 8:27–35\rIntroit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: Psalm 119:46\rGradual: 2 Corinthians 4:5a, 13c; 1 Peter 4:11b; Psalm 113:3\rVerse: Mark 8:35\r\rLosing Ourselves in the Confession of the One Name of Salvation\r \rSt. Peter speaks for all disciples when he confesses, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29). This confession is the bedrock of the Church, which Christ Himself builds (Matt. 16:18), for “this Jesus,” the stone rejected by earthly builders, “has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). This was a scandal even to Peter. The Christ must suffer, be rejected, be killed “and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31), for through this work of salvation received by faith, God’s “precious and very great promises” are granted, “so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Wherever Jesus is the Christ, His disciples deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Him (Mark 8:34). They have been cleansed from their former sins and increase in faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love, effective and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5–9). All who trust in Jesus, the Christ of Peter’s confession, will save their life, though for His sake they lose it (Mark 8:35). “For there is no other name … by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Green\r\rOld Testament: Isaiah 62:1–5\rPsalm: Psalm 128; antiphon: v. 5\rEpistle: 1 Corinthians 12:1–11\rGospel: John 2:1–11\rIntroit: Psalm 36:5–9; antiphon: Song of Solomon 2:4\rGradual: Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8\rVerse: John 2:11\r\rThe Divine Glory Is Manifested in the Signs of Christ\r \rWhen Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana, it was “the first of his signs” by which He “manifested his glory” (John 2:11). It pointed to His coming “hour,” when He was lifted up on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and the life of the world (John 2:4; 12:23–32). The glory of the cross is incomprehensible apart from the Word and Spirit of God, but disciples of Jesus recognize that glory in the signs of His Gospel, and so they believe in Him. Jesus does not wait for His disciples to discover Him on their own, but He seeks out the forsaken and the desolate and unites them to Himself. He adorns them with His own beautiful righteousness and delights in them “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride” (Is. 62:4–5). Purified by the washing of water with His Word in Holy Baptism, His disciples confess that “Jesus is Lord,” and they return thanks to Him “in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3) as they drink the good wine that He pours out for them, which is the new testament in His blood.\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rFirst Reading: Acts 16:1–5\rPsalm: Psalm 71:15–24; antiphon: v. 6\rEpistle: 1 Timothy 6:11–16\rGospel: Matthew 24:42–47\rIntroit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: 1 Timothy 6:12a, b\rGradual: Ezekiel 34:11, 12b; Jeremiah 23:4a, b\rVerse: 1 Timothy 1:15a, b\r\rSt. Timothy, Pastor and Confessor\r \rOur Master, Jesus Christ, “is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt. 24:44). He sets the servants of His Word as the watchmen and overseers of His household (Matt. 24:45). He commands them to keep, guard and “fight the good fight of the faith” entrusted to them (1 Tim. 6:12), “each according to his ability” (Matt. 25:15). Just as Christ “made the good confession” before Pilate (1 Tim. 6:13), so His servants stand before the Church and the world, and by their preaching the Lord strengthens faith and grants increase to His Church (Acts 16:5), the “pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). St. Timothy, Paul’s friend and son in the faith, is an example of such a faithful and wise servant, set over the household of God in Ephesus to nourish in “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:11). The Lord still appoints men like Timothy to bear fruit that will abide (John 15:16), so that the whole household may confess and bear witness to the One “who gives life to all things” (1 Tim. 6:13).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rFirst Reading: Acts 9:1–22\rPsalm: Psalm 67; antiphon: v. 5\rEpistle: Galatians 1:11–24\rGospel: Matthew 19:27–30\rIntroit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: Psalm 119:46\rGradual: Ephesians 4:8b, 11, 12b; 2:19a, c\rVerse: Acts 9:15b\r\rGod’s Enemies Are Conquered by the Revelation of Grace in Christ\r \rChrist brings about a great reversal in St. Paul. “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy” (Gal. 1:23). The enemy of the Gospel becomes its foremost preacher, and the last of the apostles becomes the first (Matt. 19:30). Paul is God’s “chosen instrument … to carry [His] name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). The conversion of Paul is only a more dramatic example of what God does in revealing Christ to us. The bondage of our sin makes saving faith impossible. “I believe that I cannot … believe” (Small Catechism, Third Article of the Creed). But even this is no obstacle for our Lord’s grace in Christ and the Holy Spirit’s power through the Gospel. Baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, and hearing the Word of Christ, our ears are opened and our spiritual blindness is lifted (Acts 9:17–19). It is dangerous to be a traitor to Christ’s enemies — “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:16) — but everything that is left behind is “rubbish” compared to “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8) and the eternal life that we, with St. Paul, will at last inherit (Matt. 19:29).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rFirst Reading: Acts 20:28–35\rPsalm: Psalm 71:1–14; antiphon: v. 17\rEpistle: Titus 1:1–9\rGospel: Luke 10:1–9\rIntroit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: Titus 3:4–5a\rGradual: Ezekiel 34:11, 12b; Jeremiah 23:4a, b\rVerse: Titus 2:11\r\rSt. Titus, Pastor and Confessor\r \r“Faith,” the “knowledge of the truth” and the “hope of eternal life” are manifested daily among us in His Word through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ Jesus (Titus 1:1–3). The times seem desperate: “Fierce wolves” are among us, “not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29), and “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). The Lord, however, is diligent to build and care for the Church, “which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). We are not to fear, but rather to “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest” (Luke 10:2). Send us faithful laborers! Preserve all pastors and teachers, that they “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught” so that they, like St. Titus, “may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9)! Give us ears to hear their preaching in repentance and faith. Preserve them from falsehood, greed and unholy living. We commend them to You and the Word of Your grace (Acts 20:32), that “when the chief Shepherd appears,” (1 Peter 5:4) He may declare, “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Green\r\rOld Testament: Nehemiah 8:1–3, 5–6, 8–10\rPsalm: Psalm 19; antiphon: v. 14\rPsalm: Psalm 19:7–14; antiphon: v. 14\rEpistle: 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a\rGospel: Luke 4:16–30\rIntroit: Psalm 102:18–22; antiphon: v. 13\rGradual: Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8\rVerse: Luke 4:18a\r\rThe Lord Is Manifested as Our Savior through the Preaching of the Gospel\r \rWhen Jesus opens His mouth to preach, gracious words flow from His lips. The Scriptures are, indeed, fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21–22). For Christ was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord “to proclaim good news to the poor,” “to proclaim liberty to the captives” and “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18–19). By this proclamation, Christ releases His people from captivity and gathers them to Himself in His Church. So it was when the Lord released His people from Babylon and returned them to Jerusalem. “Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people,” sanctified the whole congregation by the reading and preaching of the Law (Neh. 8:8–9). As the people then were urged to “eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready” (Neh. 8:10), so are you anointed by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ to share in His feast and to serve the fellow members of His Body with His good gifts, “giving greater honor to the part that lacked it” (1 Cor. 12:12, 24).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship