Thy Strong Word - Looking Ahead: Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15)

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon, LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain.

With guest Rev. Andrew Yeager from Zion Lutheran Church in Garrett, Indiana.

Looking Ahead: Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15)

Introit: Psalm 28:1-2, 6-7

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

28 To you, O Lord, I call;
    my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
    I become like those who go down to the pit.
²Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
    when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
    toward your most holy sanctuary.^[a]

⁶Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

Footnotes:

Psalm 28:2 Hebrew your innermost sanctuary

Antiphon: Psalm 28:8

⁸The Lord is the strength of his people;^[a]
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

Footnotes:

Psalm 28:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength

Gradual: Psalm 34:9, 19

⁹Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Old Testament: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

Salvation for Foreigners

56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.

⁶“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant—
⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
⁸The Lord God,
    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

Psalm 67 (antiphon: v. 5)

Make Your Face Shine upon Us

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67 May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
²that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
³Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

⁶The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
⁷God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Epistle: Romans 11:1-2a, 13-15, 28-32

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ²God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

¹³Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

²⁸As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. ²⁹For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now^[e] receive mercy.³²For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

Footnotes:

Romans 11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham
Romans 11:31 Some manuscripts omit now

Proper Verse: Psalm 147:2-3

²The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.^[a]

Footnotes:

Matthew 15:28 Greek from that hour

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.