Friday after Ash Wednesday
February 15, 2013
The Lord be with you
This coming Sunday is the First Sunday in Lent, the season
of preparation for Easter. The season lasts “40” days. I put 40 in quotes
because the Sundays are not counted (that is why they are called “Sunday in
Lent” not “Sundays of Lent”). What this means for those of us who give up
something for Lent, Sundays, which are “feast days” are not part of our Lenten
fast. We are able to “feast” by breaking the fast.
Ash Wednesday was this past week. There were 8 people at the
“noon” service and 19 at the evening
service. As we celebrated the Lord’s Supper and performed the imposition of
ash, the services were longer than our “standard” Lenten services. Starting
this coming week the times will be more like a half an hour for the noon service and forty-five minutes for the
evening service. The soups Kitty made were great, but next week the Swain’s are
cooking. Can they make us forget what Kitty made? Only time will tell.
As we are in the Lenten season, “Hallelujahs,” and other
such “joyful” parts of the liturgy are removed. (This practice is more obvious
with the “cathedral” services in which we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.) They
will return with Easter. This Sunday we will be using Matins for our liturgy
(page 219). We will use the Lent options for the verse on page 219, the Lent
Responsory on page 222 and the Te Deum for our canticle (page 223). We will
change things up a bit with the Psalm. Instead of Pastor serving as the Cantor,
the choir will. We will use Psalm 91. The antiphon will be verse 1.
The appointed lessons for Sunday are Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:8b-13 and Luke
4:1-13. The text for the sermon is Luke 4 :1. The sermon is titled “Wilderness.”
Our opening hymn will be “Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray” (LSB 663). Our
Sermon hymn will be “O Lord, throughout These forty Days” (LSB 418). Our
closing hymn will be “Come unto Me, Ye Weary” (LSB 684).
In our prayers Sunday we will continue to remember American
citizen and Christian Pastor, Saeed Abedini, unjustly sentenced to 8 years in
prison in Iran.
We will remember the persecuted believers in Comoros
(a cluster of Islands between Madagascar
and Africa). We will pray for the Gutnius
Lutheran Church
(in Papua New Guinea
(Gutnius means “good news”)) and their head bishop, Rev. David P. Piso. We will
remember missionaries Jack and Cathy Carlos, who are working with the Maninka people
in Guinea West. We will continue to remember those who have been mislead by our
cultures advocacy of sexual immorality and abortion, asking for healing in the
lives damaged by these sins and those who are trapped in modern-day slavery
(often now called Human Trafficking). We will remember our sister
congregations: Immanuel, St. John,
and St. Peter’s (all in Conover, NC),
and Incarnate Word in Florence, SC.
I have been unable to locate a video of one of our worship
hymns. However, if you go to the joyful noise link on the side of this blog,
you can find then rendered with simple melody lines.
Our adult Sunday school class will continue the study “together with all creatures: caring for
God’s living earth.” This is an excellent and biblical examination of
ecological issues. Quite obviously, this will have real implications about how
we live on the earth. Class begins at 9:00 am. Everyone is welcome to
join in the discussion.
Preview of Lessons
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
The book of
Deuteronomy contains Moses final messages to the Israelites. In this portion
Moses reminds the people to be thankful to the Lord who has brought them into
this wonderful land. However, it is important to note that the reason for the
thanksgiving is not simply a rich harvest. Moses starts with the beginning of
God’s blessings to this particular human family, which means Abraham who lived
over 500 years earlier. The reason for thanksgiving continues through the
Exodus, another event that was only a history lesson for the vast majority of
the people present. These events that form the heart and major motivation for
thanksgiving were “salvation” events, events that redeemed the people and
formed them into a nation. So Abraham is called from being a “wandering
Aramean,” not based on any merit on his part but on the call and purpose of
God. The Israelites were rescued from Egypt,
not by brilliant battle strategies on their part but by the almighty hand of
God. The Promised Land is also a gift as are the fruits of the land. For all
this it is, as Luther put it, “my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey
Him.” Those who think they can manipulate God, make deals (God, if you do “A”
then I’ll thank and praise, serve and obey you), and so on, fail to grasp that
the goodness of God surrounds us all, and that the greatest goodness is our
salvation. We are born in his debt. Needless to say, this lesson could be used
for a sermon on giving. If so, one should remember the primary focus is the
goodness of God and that our gifts are a recognition of what God has already
granted.
Romans 10:8b-13
This is a portion of
Paul’s lengthy discussion of the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. At this
point, Paul is explaining how the Jews, who pursued righteousness, could fail
to attain it when Gentiles, who did not seek righteousness, were justified. The
reason is that the Jews did not pursue righteousness through faith, but rather
a righteousness based on the law and therefore by works. The reason they did
not pursue the righteousness of faith is that they stumbled over Jesus (9:30-33). In this reading Paul explains the
significance of Jesus being the “end of the law” (10:4). That is that
righteousness before God is not achieved through works but by grace through
faith in Jesus. Note two things in this reading. First is that what we believe
comes for in our speech. If you believe in Jesus you will speak of
Jesus (verse 8). Second is that Paul refers to Jesus being raised from the dead
(verse 9). It might seem odd that he doesn’t reference Good Friday (through the
resurrection certainly could not have happened if Jesus hadn’t died first).
There are at least two reasons for the reference to the resurrection instead of
Jesus’ crucifixion. First, it fits better with the discussion of Jesus as Lord.
Second, it goes better with the idea that Jesus is the end of the Law.
Luke 4:1-13
This is the account of Jesus as he is tempted in the
wilderness for 40 days at the beginning of his public ministry. It is the
traditional event shared from the Gospels on the first Sunday in Lent and also
the source of inspiration for the 40 day fast (coupled with other significant
40’s in the Bible). Throughout the 40 days Jesus is tempted by the devil, with
a few representative temptations recorded in the Gospels. A few things one might
note is how the devil twists scripture. In verses 9 and 10 Satan quotes the
Psalm we will be using Sunday, but he omits verse 1 which sets the stage for
the whole Psalm, thus twisting the meaning. Satan tempts Jesus to misuse his
power, to take shortcuts, and so forth. He offers gifts he can’t give (oh how
often do people seek various goals today, thinking they will give satisfaction,
joy, contentment, etc., only to be disappointed). Satan attacks where he thinks
we are weak. It is worth noting that Jesus was lead into the wilderness by the
Holy Spirit. Simply because we are facing trials does not mean we are outside
of the will of God. Indeed, at times, we face trials because we are in the will of God.
Think of Pastor Saeed Abedini, unjustly sentenced to 8 years in prison in Iran,
because he is a Christian pastor. His trials are precisely because he is
faithful.
Lectionary Synopsis (from Synod)
Jesus Christ Is Our Champion Against the Devil
Jesus Christ, our Champion against the devil, endures and
overcomes “every temptation” (Luke 4:13)
on our behalf. He worships the Lord His God, and serves Him only by trusting
the Word of His Father: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased” (Luke 3:22).
Jesus’ victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but
near us – in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and
faith. For “with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one
confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10).
Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not
disappointed; “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”
(Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not
oblivious to “our affliction, our toil, and our oppression” (Deut. 26:7),
but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the “signs
and wonders” of Holy Baptism, “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm”
(Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.
Tidbits
The Church Council will
meet after the worship service in the library.
LitWits will meet
at Pastor’s home, 6:30 pm. The book
to be discussed is The Constantine Codex.
Information for
the March newsletter is due Sunday.
The deadline for the “early” registration for the LWML Joy Event is Sunday.
Our Stations of the
Cross have been posted. They will remain up throughout Lent.
Each Wednesday
throughout Lent we will have two worship services (12:15 and 7:00 PM).
The evening service is preceded by a soup
supper (6:15 PM). All are
welcome.
Choir practice
follows the Wednesday evening Lent service.
Well, I pray I’ll see you Sunday.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
Well, it looks like Sunday worship will be canceled due to icy roads.
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