Have you met a person who is deaf and cannot speak? Or is there a person in your family who is deaf-mute?
Deaf-mute is a person who does not hear and does not speak.
We know that we can listen and speak from birth.
But we will not be able to know the inner life of a deaf-mute person…

On Friday in our catechetical class, we studied the Fifth Petition of the Lord’s
Prayer, which says: …and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors.
What does this mean?
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven will not look upon our sins, nor
because of them deny us what we ask; for we are not worthy of anything we ask
for, nor have we deserved it; We beg you, therefore, to give us all of it freely,
because we sin much daily, and really deserve nothing but punishment. In the
same way, we will forgive from the heart, and we will gladly do all the good we
can to those who trespass against us.

Any of you who have been in the difficult position of having to watch suffer someone you love, knows what it means to feel totally helpless. Parents to children, children to parents, husbands, grandparents, friends. You want to help, but you can’t. You’d switch places with them in a second, but you can’t. They suffer, and all you can do is watch. There is nothing you can humanly do. Such a feeling of helplessness reduces even the strongest person to tears.

It is clear from today’s lessons that God has a real problem with false prophets and their
false teachings, and He cares deeply about what we read, learn, and internally digest.

As we look at the texts for today, the words of the Small Catechism flood our minds. Our heavenly Father “provides me daily and abundantly with everything necessary for life,” says the explanation of the First Article.

God’s merciful love in Christ changes things. Change hearts. Change our opinions. It exchanges death for life. Turn tears of pain and fear into tears of joy and peace. By God’s grace, may this same merciful, Christ-centered love change you.