November 23, 2024

Today's Reading: Introit for Pentecost 27 - Psalm 39:4-5a, 7-8, 12a; antiphon: 2 Peter 3:13b

Daily Lectionary: Daniel 3:1-30; Revelation 20:1-15

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! (Psalm 39:4)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

When my wife and I had our first child, we received all sorts of advice. Some advice we asked for, some we didn’t. People are funny that way. They like to give advice as if to bring meaning to their experiences, but I realize something now as my first child turns five and is preparing for kindergarten: they were right. The advice we often received was, “Don’t blink; they grow up fast,” and they were right. I wonder now if their desire to give advice came from a place of regret or grief. They blinked, and their children were grown, just like I blinked and my oldest prepares for Kindergarten. The psalmist gives words to this. God shows us in many ways how short our lives are, how quickly time passes, and how soon death approaches. One thing is certain: regardless of how old you are, dear reader, life is fleeting.

While it seems like this is simply a reality you must face, it can serve a greater purpose in the life of the Christian. Allow it to be a call to you, a call to repent and to turn back to the Father who loves you. Why? Because all sinners have the propensity to get distracted and caught up in trivial things. Time is wasted on reading news articles about Fantasy Football, hours slip by while you scroll on your phone to look into people's lives whom you do not know, and days drift away while you attend your children’s tournaments that consume their entire childhood. The list goes on. We waste a lot of time on trivial things. There is this sense that there is time for the important things, but right now isn’t that time. There is time to hear God’s word, but it can wait for now. There is time to receive His Gifts, but it isn’t today. There is time to confess Jesus as Lord, but not until you're older and death is more real.

Don’t be a fool. Life is truly fleeting. Life is short. God is near. Do not waste time on trivial things. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying: it is okay to play some sports, enjoy some entertainment, and even play some Fantasy Football, but don’t let it consume you. Don’t let it become your god. Carve out time in your life for the more pressing things. Do not put God in the “to be done later” pile of things on your schedule. Honor the Sabbath by going to church to rest in His care and receive the Good News of Jesus dead, resurrected, and ascended for you. Rest in the presence of God and His mercy. Feed on his word day after day. A day will come (if it hasn’t already) when God will remind you that your life is truly fleeting, and on that day, you will cry out to the Lord, and He will answer. His answer is in Christ, the crucified one. He will hear you. And He will speak words of comfort and life to you. For in Him, life is not fleeting; it is everlasting.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Death's power holds us still in thrall And bears us toward the tomb. Death’s darkening cloud hangs like a pall That threatens earth with doom. But You have broken death’s embrace And torn away its sting. Restore to life our mortal race! Raise us, O Risen King! (LSB 552:4)

-Rev. Caleb Weight, associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.

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

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.