Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church 929 East Milton Street, South Bend (574) emmaus24.org

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1 Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church 929 East Milton Street, South Bend (574) emmaus24.org Rev. Dr. Richard Stuckwisch, Pastor Rev. David A. Seyboldt, Assistant Pastor Z DAILY CATECHESIS ON THE WAY Z TO AND FROM EMMAUS WITH JESUS Z THE WEEK OF THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Z They were continually devoting themselves to the Apostolic Doctrine and to the Communion, to the Breaking of the Bread, and to the Prayers. (Acts of the Apostles 2:42) Z Z Z

2 The Week of the First Sunday after Christmas 27 Dec 2 Jan This Week in the Church Year The first three days immediately following the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord demonstrate the hostility of the sinful world toward the Christ and His people. The Feasts of St. Stephen the Martyr, of St. John the Apostle & Evangelist, and of the Holy Innocents confess and bear witness to the Cross. For the Word-made-Flesh has entered the world that He Himself made, in order to save His people from their sin; and yet He is unknown and unwelcome, despised and rejected. Nevertheless, He has come to bear the Cross for the salvation of us all, in order to atone for our sins and reconcile us to God in Himself. Emphasis: The Lord, Emmanuel, Has Come to Bear the Cross 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. [The Opening Versicles and Psalmody]: O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will declare Your praise. Make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord. 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. Psalm 111 (and/or one or more of the appointed daily Psalms listed below) Psalms Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Morning 34, 150 2, , , 147: , 147: , , 149 Evening 19, , , 97 11, 89 45, 96 99, 8 45, 29 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.

3 The Verse: St. Luke 2:30, 32 My eyes have seen Your salvation: A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. Readings for the Week of the First Sunday after Christmas: Sunday, 27 December 15 (The Feast of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist) Isaiah 51:17 52:12; St. Matthew 2:1 12 (Revelation 1:1 6; 1 John 1:1 2:2; and St. John 21:20 25) Monday, 28 December 2015 (The Feast of the Holy Innocents) Isaiah 52:13 54:10; St. Matthew 2:13 23 (Jeremiah 31:15 17; and Revelation 14:1 5) Tuesday, 29 December 2015 (King David) Isaiah 55:1 13; St. Luke 1:1 25 Wednesday, 30 December 2015 Isaiah 58:1 59:3, 14 21; St. Luke 1:26 38 Thursday, 31 December 2015 Isaiah 60:1 22; St. Luke 1:39 56 Friday, 1 January 2016 (The Feast of the Name & Circumcision of Jesus) Isaiah 61:1 11; St. Luke 1:57 80 (Numbers 6:22 27; Galatians 3:23 29; and St. Luke 2:21) Saturday, 2 January 2016 (J. K. Wilhelm Löhe, Pastor) Isaiah 62:1 12; St. Luke 2:1 20 O Lord, have mercy on us. Thanks be to God.

4 The Catechism: The Introduction to the Our Father What is the Introduction to the Our Father? Our Father Who art in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father. The Hymns of the Week IN PEACE AND JOY I NOW DEPART LSB #938 [Daily Prayer: Invocation, Apostles Creed, Kyrie Eleison, and the Our Father]: In the Name Z of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and Z the life everlasting. Amen. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father Who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever & ever. Amen.

5 [The Collects of the Week, and Special Petitions]: Collect for the Week of the First Sunday after Christmas: O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the Incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen) (Sunday, 27 December) Collect for the Feast of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist Merciful Lord, cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church 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) (Monday, 28 December) Collect for the Feast of the Holy Innocents Almighty God, whose praise was proclaimed on this day by the wicked death 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 salvation; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen) (Thursday, 31 December) Collect for New Year s Eve Eternal God, we commit to Your mercy and forgiveness the year now ending and commend to Your blessing and love the times yet to come. In the new year, abide among us with Your Holy Spirit that we may always trust in the saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen) (Friday, 1 January) Collect for the Feast of the Name & Circumcision of Jesus Lord God, You made Your beloved Son, our Savior, subject to the Law and caused Him to shed His blood on our behalf. Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit that our hearts may be made pure from all sin; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Amen)

6 In our Prayers this Week at Emmaus: Our homebound members and all whose health makes it difficult to get out, including Anne Schafer, Charles & Sylvia Horner, Don & Phoebe Pritz, Dorothy Rummel, Edna Enders, Garold & Marion Grossnickle, Richard & Barbara Craig, Robert & Hilda Tharp, that the Lord would attend them; and Members of our congregations, as well as friends and extended family, as they travel to and fro over these holy days, that the Lord would guard them by His holy angels; and in particular, the students traveling to and from their homes. [The Daily Morning or Evening Prayer, the Benedicamus, and the Benediction]: (Morning): We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept us this night from all harm and danger; and we pray that You would keep us this day also from sin and every evil, that all our doings and life may please You; for into Your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all things; let Your holy Angel be with us, that the wicked foe may have no power over us. Amen. Let us bless the Lord. (Evening): We thank You, Lord God, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept us this day from all harm and danger; and we pray that You would forgive us all our sins, wherever we have done wrong, and graciously keep us this night; for into Your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all things; let Your holy Angel be with us, that the wicked foe may have no power over us. Amen. Thanks be to God. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the Communion 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 celebrated 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

7 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 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). These Innocents, commemorated just three days after the celebration of Jesus birth, remind 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 providentially spared at this time, many years later, another ruler, Pontius Pilate, would sentence the innocent Jesus to death. 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 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 2016 Hymns: LSB #367; LSB #376; LSB #379; LSB #387; LSB #410; LSB #863 Readings: 1 Kings 3:4 15; Ephesians 1:3 14; and Saint Luke 2:40 52