First Sunday in Lent: Invocavit
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord" -Psalm 122:1
Dear friend in Christ,
I'm looking forward to finally beginning our Lenten journey together, since Ash Wednesday was cancelled. A note on the service tomorrow: one of the parts of the liturgy we sing every week is the Kyrie where we sing "Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us," echoing the cry of the blind man at the side of the road in Mark 10. This Lent we're going to sing an expanded for of the Kyrie, Hymn 945 "Your Heart, O God is Grieved." It has 3 verses, each addressed to the Persons of the Holy Trinity. The pastor sings the first line to each verse:
- O God, Father in heaven, have mercy upon us.
- O Son of God, Redeemer, have mercy upon us.
- O God, Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us.
The congregation then responds with the remainder of each verse:
Your heart, O God, is grieved, we know,
By ev'ry evil, ev'ry woe;
Upon Your cross-forsaken Son
Our death is laid, and peace is won.Your arms extend, O Christ, to save
From sting of death and grasp of grave;
Your scars before the Father move
His heart to mercy at such love.O lavish Giver, come to aid
The feeble child Your grace has made.
Now make us grow and help us pray;
Bring joy and comfort; come to stay.
You can get a sense of what it sounds like from this video. Give it a listen. We'll practice a stanza before the service, too. Hopefully this can be a blessed addition to our Divine Services this Lent!
Scripture Readings For the Week:
The devil slithers his way into our hearts and minds. He is after the Word of God. He wants to steal the very thing that would set us free from the darkness. "Did God really say?" "You will not surely die." "Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." His temptation is to look for our good in life anywhere except from God. But apart from God, there is no good. There is only darkness, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth. Adam and Eve fell into sin. We have followed them. But the Son of God took on flesh to battle for us, to crush the serpent's crafty head. He is faithful. He does not turn aside from God's Word for any reason. He is faithful even unto death. His faithfulness atones for our sin. His death conquers death. His Word leads us out of darkness, out of lies, out of death--into light, truth, and life-everlasting. Put aside your sins. Repent where you have believed lies and walked in darkness. Rejoice in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Follow Him, walking in the way that leads back to paradise.
Prayer of the Day:
O Lord God, You led Your ancient people through the wilderness and brought them to the promised land. Guide the people of Your Church that following our Savior we may walk through the wilderness of this world toward the glory of the world to come; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Hymns
- 655 Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word
- 945 Your Heart, O God, Is Grieved
- 657 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
- 634 The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord
- 423 Jesus, Refuge of the Weary
- 716 I Walk in Danger All the Way
Bach Cantata for the Week
Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir, BWV 38 (Video | Translation)
We'll see you in church tomorrow!
In Christ,
Pastor Sherman