Lent
“A journey, a pilgrimage! Yet, as we begin it, as we make the first step into the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent, we see - far, far away - the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom.”
- Alexander Schmemann.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of the Christian gospel, and Good Friday and Easter are two of the most significant celebrations of the Christian year. Lent is a season of preparation and repentance during which we anticipate Good Friday and Easter. Just as we carefully prepare for big events in our personal lives... Lent invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection (From The Worship Sourcebook).
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory 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. Alleluia!
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy:
O come, let us adore him.
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 137
[1] By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
[2] On the willows there
we hung up our lyres.
[3] For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
[4] How shall we sing the LORD’s song
in a foreign land?
[5] If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget its skill!
[6] Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
[7] Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites
the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
[8] O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who repays you
with what you have done to us!
[9] Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and dashes them against the rock!
Psalm 138
Of David.
[1] I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
[2] I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
[3] On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.
[4] All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
[5] and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
[6] For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
[7] Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
[8] The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Old Testament Reading
Job 39
[1] “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the does?
[2] Can you number the months that they fulfill,
and do you know the time when they give birth,
[3] when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,
and are delivered of their young?
[4] Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;
they go out and do not return to them.
[5] “Who has let the wild donkey go free?
Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
[6] to whom I have given the arid plain for his home
and the salt land for his dwelling place?
[7] He scorns the tumult of the city;
he hears not the shouts of the driver.
[8] He ranges the mountains as his pasture,
and he searches after every green thing.
[9] “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?
Will he spend the night at your manger?
[10] Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,
or will he harrow the valleys after you?
[11] Will you depend on him because his strength is great,
and will you leave to him your labor?
[12] Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain
and gather it to your threshing floor?
[13] “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,
but are they the pinions and plumage of love?
[14] For she leaves her eggs to the earth
and lets them be warmed on the ground,
[15] forgetting that a foot may crush them
and that the wild beast may trample them.
[16] She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;
though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,
[17] because God has made her forget wisdom
and given her no share in understanding.
[18] When she rouses herself to flee,
she laughs at the horse and his rider.
[19] “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
[20] Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrifying.
[21] He paws in the valley and exults in his strength;
he goes out to meet the weapons.
[22] He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
he does not turn back from the sword.
[23] Upon him rattle the quiver,
the flashing spear, and the javelin.
[24] With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;
he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
[25] When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!’
He smells the battle from afar,
the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
[26] “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars
and spreads his wings toward the south?
[27] Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
and makes his nest on high?
[28] On the rock he dwells and makes his home,
on the rocky crag and stronghold.
[29] From there he spies out the prey;
his eyes behold it from far away.
[30] His young ones suck up blood,
and where the slain are, there is he.”
New Testament Reading
2 Corinthians 9
[1] Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, [2] for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. [3] But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. [4] Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—for being so confident. [5] So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.
[6] The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. [7] Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [8] And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. [9] As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
[10] He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. [12] For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. [13] By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, [14] while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. [15] Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
God, you know better than we the temptations that will bring us down. Grant that our love for you may protect us from all foolish and corrupt desire. Praise to you our God; you answer prayer. Amen.
- Commission -
After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. (1 Peter 5:10-11)
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.