March 14-19, 2022
Preparation for Lent 3
The Theme for Lent 3 is “A Life of Repentance.” In the Old
Testament lesson (Ezekiel 33:7-20) the prophet is told that he has been called
to be a watchman, to speak of warning. If he fails to call men to repentance,
he is responsible for his brother’s fall. In the Epistle (1 Corinthians 10:1-13),
Paul calls his hearers to repent to avoid destruction. In the Gospel (Luke
13:1-9), Jesus warns us to repent before it is too late or perish.
Collect for Lent 3 – O God,
whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray
from Your ways and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to
embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word; through Jesus
Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, now and forever.
A prayer for newness of life in Christ – Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast
away the works of darkness and put upon ourselves the armor of life, now in the
time of this mortal life, in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in
great humility, that in the last day, when He shall come again in glory to
judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal.
A prayer for Home and Family – Visit, we implore You, O Lord, the homes in
which Your people dwell, and keep far from them all harm and danger. Grant us
to dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels and may
Your blessing be with us forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
A morning prayer – Faithful God, whose mercies are new to us every morning, we humbly pray
that You would look upon us in mercy and renew us by Your Holy Spirit. Keep
safe our going out and our coming in, and let Your blessings remain with us
throughout this day. Preserve us in Your righteousness and grant us a portion
in that eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A prayer before worship – O Lord, our Creator,
Redeemer, and Comforter, as we come to worship You in spirit and in truth, we
humbly pray that You may open our hearts to the preaching of Your Word, so that
we may repent of our sins, believe in Jesus Christ as our only Savior, and grow
in grace and holiness. Hear us for His same.
Monday, 14
Match 2022—Psalm 5:4-8, Antiphon,
Psalm 1:6: For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the
wicked will perish. In keeping with our theme – a life of repentance – the
antiphon reminds us that the righteous will be saved but the wicked will
perish. They will perish for they do not repent. Implicit in the destinies of
the two lifestyles are the destinies of those who choose them. This will be
further explained in the Old Testament lesson for the week.
Tuesday, 15 March 2022—Psalm 85; key verse, verse 8: I will listen to what God the Lord will say;
He promises peace to His people His saints – but let them not return to folly. When we repent, we take responsibility, we
show remorse, we repair what we can, and we repeat not! This is what the psalmist
is driving at when he says, “but let them not return to folly.” When we
repeat, when we return to visit from whence we came, we provoke God’s
displeasure again. Thus, we need to ask the Lord to send us His Holy Spirit to
lead us into right living. And when we fall or fail, we need to confess our
sin, repent, and rely on His grace to save us. This is the pattern of a life of
repentance.
Wednesday, 16 March
2022—Ezekiel 33:7-20–When confronted by the Lord, Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” [Genesis 4:9]
Ezekiel is called to be a watchman. He is to warn his fellow citizens of the
sure destruction, which is to come. If they repent, they are spared. If they
refuse to repent, they will be punished, but Ezekiel will not be held liable.
However, if he chooses not to warn his brothers, they will surely be punished
yet he will be held responsible for his brother because he failed to warn them.
We have a responsibility to preach both Law and Gospel. God will judge each
individual whether righteous or wicked. God takes no pleasure in punishing.
This is his alien work. (This will hurt me as much as it hurts you) But it is a
part of God’s nature. We are our brother’s keeper. Each will be judged
individually yet there is a moral obligation toward our neighbor to sound the
alarm of the coming judgment.
Thursday, 17 March 2022—1
Corinthians10:1-13–St. Paul pleads with his hearers to turn from their sin
(repent) to avoid destruction. He uses lessons to be learned from the
Israelites’ experiences in the wilderness. The gist of Paul’s pleading: don’t
think that just because you were baptized and receive Holy Communion, you are
safe from sinning. Look at the Israelites who were baptized into Moses and ate
supernatural food. They perished for their sins. Christians can sin, too. Pride
goes before a fall. Do not be smug and think you have it made, that nothing can
happen to you, and that you are safe from God’s judgment. Yet God will provide
an escape from temptation to sin that you need not perish. As Christians, you
need to live a life of daily repentance.
Friday, 18 March 2022
– Luke 13:1-9–Repent before it is too
late. Judgment is delayed to allow time for repentance. The parable of the fig tree emphasizes God’s
forbearance and patience in waiting for repentance. The emphasis is on the plea
of the vinedresser to give the tree more time to produce before its
destruction.
Suffering and tragedy do not necessarily follow sin. A
natural catastrophe like the tower of Siloam and man’s violence like Pilate’s massacre
of those in the acts of worship do not imply that the victims were special
sinners deserving this fate. All need to repent. Whether or not they are
victims of disaster, all are guilty of sin. Thus, unless all repent, they will
perish like the victims of the tower and the massacre.
Saturday, 19 February 2022—Psalm 67:1-2—Sunday’s hymn is May
God Bestow on us His grace (LSB 824).
This one of Luther’s greater hymns. Meditate upon what Christ has offered you –
His life, His love in exchange for your sin.
Prayers
from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 and Lutheran Worship © 1980 Concordia Publishing House
Schnorr Von Carolsfeld woodcuts © WELS permission granted
for personal and congregational use
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series C – John Brokhoff ©
1979 CSS Publishing, Lima, OH
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