The Feast of the Holy Innocents Monday, 28 December St. Matthew’s Gospel tells of King Herod’s vicious plot against the Infant Jesus after being “tricked” by the Wise Men. Threatened by the One “born King of the Jews,” Herod murdered all the young boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under (St. Matt. 2:16–18). Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church These “Innocents,” commemorated just three days after the celebration of Jesus’ birth, remind 929 East Milton Street, South Bend • (574) 287–4151 • emmaus24.org us not only of the terrible brutality of which human beings are capable but more importantly of the persecution Jesus endured from the beginning of His earthly life. Though Jesus’ life was Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch, Pastor providentially spared at this time, many years later, another ruler, Pontius Pilate, would sentence the innocent Jesus to death. Rev. David A. Seyboldt, Assistant Pastor Commemoration of King David Tuesday, 29 December David, the greatest of Israel’s kings, ruled from about 1010 to 970 B.C. The events of his life are found in First Samuel 16 through First Kings 2 and in First Chronicles 10–29. David was also gifted musically. He was skilled in playing the lyre and authored no less than 73 psalms, including the beloved Psalm 23. His public and private character displayed a mixture of good (for example, his defeat of the giant Goliath, 1 Samuel 17) and evil (as in his adultery with Uriah’s wife, followed by his murder of Uriah, 2 Samuel 11). David’s greatness lay in his fierce loyalty to God as Israel’s military and political leader, coupled with his willingness to acknowledge his sins and ask for God’s forgiveness (2 Samuel 12; see also Psalm 51). It was under David’s leadership that the people of Israel were united into a single nation with Jerusalem as its capital city. Commemoration of J. K. Wilhelm Löhe, Lutheran Pastor Saturday, 2 January Although he never left Germany, Johannes Konrad Wilhelm Löhe, born in Fuerth in 1808, had a profound impact on the development of Lutheranism in North America. Serving as pastor in the Bavarian village of Neuendettelsau, he recognized the need for workers in developing lands and assisted in training emergency helpers to be sent as missionary pastors to North America, Brazil, and Australia. A number of the men he sent to the United States became founders of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Through his financial support, a theological seminary was established in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a teachers’ institute in Saginaw, Michigan. In continuity with his zealous missionary efforts, Löhe was also known for his confessional integrity and his fervent interest in liturgical studies (and practice), as well as catechesis in the church, school and home. His devotion to works of Christian charity led to the establishment of a deaconess training house and homes for the aged. Let each his lesson learn with care, and all the household well shall fare. Looking forward to the Second Sunday after Christmas 3 January 2021 Z DAILY CATECHESIS ON THE WAY Z Hymns: TO AND FROM EMMAUS WITH JESUS LSB #376 Once in Royal David’s City LSB #385 From East to West Z THE WEEK OF THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Z LSB #402 The Only Son from Heaven LSB #410 Within the Father’s House “They were continually devoting themselves to the Apostolic Doctrine and LSB #523 O Word of God Incarnate to the Communion, to the Breaking of the Bread, and to the Prayers.” LSB #530 No Temple Now, No Gift of Price (Acts of the Apostles 2:42) LSB #863 Our Father, by Whose Name Z Z Z Readings: 1 Kings 3:4–15; Ephesians 1:3–14; and Saint Luke 2:40–52 [The Daily Morning or Evening Prayer, the Benedicamus, and the Benediction]: (Morning): We thank You, Lord (Evening): We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, through God, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept us that You have graciously kept this night from all harm and us this day from all harm and danger; and we pray that You danger; and we pray that You would keep us this day also from would forgive us all our sins, sin and every evil, that all our wherever we have done wrong, doings and life may please You; and graciously keep us this for into Your hands we com- night; for into Your hands we mend ourselves, our bodies and commend ourselves, our bodies souls and all things; let Your and souls and all things; let holy Angel be with us, that the Your holy Angel be with us, wicked foe may have no power that the wicked foe may have no over us. Amen. power over us. Amen. Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Com- munion of the Holy Spirit Z be with us all. Amen. Then, if it is in the morning, go joyfully to your work, according to your vocations in life, in faith toward God and in love toward your neighbor; or, if it is at the close of the day, go to sleep at once and in good cheer. The Feast of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist Sunday, 27 December St. John was a son of Zebedee and the brother of St. James the Elder (whose Feast is cele- brated on 25 July). John was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus (St. Matt. 4:18–22); he refers to himself simply as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in the Gospel that bears his name. Of the Twelve, John alone did not forsake Jesus in the hours of His suffering and death. With the faithful women he stood at the cross, where our Lord made him the guardian of His mother. After Pentecost, John spent his ministry in Jerusalem and at Ephesus, where tradition says that he served as bishop. He wrote the fourth Gospel, the three Epistles that bear his name, and the Book of the Revelation. Especially memorable in his Gospel are the account of the sign at the wedding in Cana (St. John 2:1–12), the “Gospel in a nutshell” (3:16), Jesus’ Good Shepherd discourse (10:11–16), the raising of Lazarus from the dead (11:17–44), and Jesus’ meeting of Mary Magdalene on Easter morning (20:11–18). According to tradition, John was banished to the island of Patmos off the coast of Asia Minor by the Roman emperor Diocletian. John lived to a very old age, surviving all the other Apostles, and died at Ephesus about A.D. 100. [The Collects of the Week]: The Week of the First Sunday after Christmas 27 Dec — 2 Jan Collect for the Week of the First Sunday after Christmas: O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the This Week in the Church Year Having celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, the Twelve Days of Christmas Incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. continue into the first week of the secular New Year. On New Year’s Day. in particular, Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; that is, the Eighth Day of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Name & Circumcision through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and of Jesus. In this we rejoice that the Word has become Flesh, that God has become Man the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen) in order to reveal Himself to us, and to rescue us from the condemnation of the Law, from sin, death, the devil and hell. His Name declares the purpose of His coming in the flesh; for “Jesus” is Yahweh, the Savior, who comes to save His people from their sins. (Sunday, 27 December) Collect for the Feast of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist Merciful Lord, cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church Emphasis: The Lord Jesus Is Yahweh in the Flesh to Save Us that we, being instructed in the doctrine of Your blessed Apostle and Evangelist John, may come to the light of everlasting life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever. (Amen) The Order of Daily Catechesis in Word and Prayer Pray and confess out loud as much from the order of daily catechesis as you and your family are able. Learn by heart the verse, catechism, and hymn of the week. (Monday, 28 December) Collect for the Feast of the Holy Innocents Almighty God, whose praise was proclaimed on this day by the wicked death [The Opening Versicles and Psalmody]: of innocent children, giving us thereby a picture of the death of Your beloved Son, mortify and destroy in us all that is in conflict with You, that we who have been called in faith to be Your children may in life and death bear witness to Your O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will declare Your praise. salvation; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen) Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord. (Thursday, 31 December) Collect for New Year’s Eve Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; Eternal God, we commit to Your mercy and forgiveness the year now As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.