By the Cross of Our Lord Jesus, We Inherit Life Everlasting
with God
In His covenant with Abraham, the Lord promised to be with
him, to bless him, and to make him “the father of a multitude of nations.” It
is “an everlasting covenant” in Christ Jesus, the seed of Abraham who is blameless
before God Almighty. All who believe in this Lord Jesus are the offspring of
Abraham and are blessed “throughout their generations” (Gen. 17:1–7), because
the Christ has suffered many things, He was rejected and killed, and after
three days He rose again (Mark 8:31). To comprehend this theology of the cross,
we must set our mind “on the things of God,” and not “on the things of man”
(Mark 8:33). “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Therefore, having been “reconciled to God by
the death of His Son,” much more “shall we be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10).
Baptized into His cross and resurrection, “we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ,” and by faith we rejoice in the hope of His glory (Rom.
5:1–2).
Collect for the
Second Sunday in Lent: O God, You see
that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all
adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may
assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives
and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Prayer for life as a
baptized child of God: Merciful
Father, through Holy Baptism You called us to be Your own possession. Grant
that our lives may evidence the working of Your Holy Spirit in love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self-control, according to the image of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ,
our Savior,
Prayer for
deliverance from sin: We implore You,
O Lord, in Your kindness to show us Your great mercy that we may be set free
from our sins and rescued from the punishments that we rightfully deserve;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
Prayer for grace to
love and serve God: O God, through
the grace of Your Holy Spirit You pour the gifts of love into the hearts of
Your faithful people. Grant Your servants health both of mind and body that
they may love You with their whole heart and with their whole strength perform
those things that are pleasing to You; thr through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord,
Monday, 27 February
2012—Psalm 115:11-13, 18; antiphon,
Psalm 25:6—The Introit sets the theme for the day: Lent is a time of
suffering, as the way of the cross often involves suffering for the Christian.
In the midst of our suffering we cry out with the Psalmist “Remember Your mercy
O LORD, and Your steadfast love. We ask the Father to look at us through His
eye of mercy as He remembers the work of Christ our Savior.
Tuesday, 28 February
2012—Psalm 22:23-31—In this
psalm, David vows to praise the Lord when the Lord’s sure deliverance comes. The
vows proper appear in verses 22 and 25. Verses 23-24 anticipate the calls to
praise that will accompany the psalmist’s praise. Verses 26-31 describe the
expanding company of those who will take up the praise—a worldwide company of
persons form every station in life and continuing through the generations. No
psalm or prophecy contains a grander vision of this scope of the throng of
worshipers who will join in the praise of God’s saving acts.
Wednesday, 29
February 2012—Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16—In
our Old Testament reading, Abram’s name is changed to Abraham as the Lord gives
him the covenant of circumcision. The covenant is God’s. God calls it “my
covenant” as He initiates and established it. God has covenanted to keep His
promises. The Lord gives us His pledge to be the protector of His people and
the One who provides for their well-being and guarantees their future
blessings.
Thursday, 1 March
2012—Romans 5:1-11—Paul teaches
that Christians have peace with God through the reconciliation made possible by
the cross. This lesson is a transition from justification by faith to a life of
faith beginning with chapter 6. Hence we have Paul’s “therefore” (v.1) By grace
through faith, we are one with God in peace and harmony. Out of this
relationship come reasons to rejoice: that we share in the glory of God (v.2)
that we experience suffering that eventuates in hope (vv.3, 4); and that we are
reconciled to God through Christ (v.11). In our suffering, sin and weakness,
God comes to us in love expressed in the death of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Friday, 2 March 2012—Mark 8:27-38—Jesus teaches that He must
suffer and die and calls
upon His disciples to follow Him in the same. Jesus
and the Disciples are at Caesarea Philippi. Peter had confessed Jesus as the
Christ. Thereupon Jesus explains to His disciples that as the Messiah He must
go to Jerusalem to suffer and die. This did not fit into Peter’s conception of
the Messiah and therefore he rebukes Jesus. Jesus sees this as a temptation not
to go to the cross. He turns down the temptation by seeing Satan in Peter.
Then, in the second part of the lesson (vv. 34-38), Jesus explains to both
disciples and people that they, too, are to take the way of the cross that
involves denial, suffering, and sacrifice.
The rugged cross means a rugged way of life for a follower
of Christ. The Christian style of life is a hard life. Jesus’ life consisted of
sorrow, rejection, suffering, and death. His followers can expect no less. The
Christian life has a cross at its center. John Donne said, “No cross is so
extreme, as to have none. There is no gain without pain.” President Truman had
a sign on his desk: “Bring me only bad news. Good news weakens me.” In Tom
Sawyer, Mark Twain wrote, “He had discovered a great law of human action,
without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing,
it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain.”
Saturday, 3 March
2012—The hymn of the day is Lord,
Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB #708). This can serve also as a
beautiful prayer that we may never forsake our Lord Jesus, but that He would be
with us all our days and keep us strong in faith until He takes us from this
vale of tears to Himself in heaven.
Lectionary summary on the front page from the LCMS
Commission on Worship
Artwork by Ed Riojas, © Higher Things
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia
Publishing House
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