Thursday of Lent 4

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say-  Lutheran Service Book #699

John 6:35; Matthew 11:28-20; John 7:37; John 8:12

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;

Lay down, thou weary one, lay down thy head upon My breast”

I came to Jesus as I was, So weary, worn and sad;

I found in Him a resting place, And He has made me glad.

Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. He felt both the pain and agony that are a part of the human lot. As a human being, He prayed to have the cup of suffering removed. Yet, He also prayed that God’s will be accomplished.

Christ suffered on the cross. He felt the physical pain of being nailed to the cross. He was utterly rejected by His Father. He was weighed down with the awesome burden of the sins of the whole world. When we come to Him, He offers us complete and total rest.

O God, You resist the proud and give grace to the humble. Grant us true humility after the likeness of Your only Son that we may never be arrogant and prideful and thus provoke Your wrath but in all lowliness be made partakers of the gifts of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.[1]

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[1] Lutheran Service Book, Collect for humility; © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis