Time in the Word
13-18 March 2023
Preparation for next week, Lent 4
13-18 March 2023
Preparation for next week, Lent 4
Light to See
The Fourth Sunday In Lent was formerly known
as Laetare Sunday, taken from the
first Latin word of the Introit, Laetare, meaning to “rejoice.” It was also known as
“Refreshment Sunday” because of the Gospel lesson of the feeding of the 5,000.
The second half of Lent begins in a lighter mood in preparation for the depth
of sorrow coming in the Passion. Today’s three Lessons harmonize on the theme
of light, vision, and insight. Samuel is given the insight to see that of all
the sons of Jesse, David was the one to be king. Jesus brought spiritual vision
to the man healed by blindness. Paul exhorts Christians as children of light to
walk in the light of goodness. Since David was called to be the shepherd of
Israel, Psalm 23 is appropriate. We pray in the Prayer that we may be cleansed
from the darkness of sin that we may be children of the light, which is Christ.
From the light of spiritual vision, for the cure of our spiritual blindness, we
can rejoice — Laetare!
Monday, 13 March 2023—Psalm 84:1-4;
antiphon, Psalm 84:5—In the Introit for Sunday, we pray, My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He
will pluck my feet out of the net. Those who have come to know the Lord as
their deliverer and the sustainer of their lives place their confidence in Him.
This is the definition of faith. In this Lenten season, the cross looms closer.
Place your confidence in Christ alone.
Tuesday, 14
March 2023—Psalm
142—key verse, verse 5, I cry to You, O Lord; I say You are my
refuge, my portion in the land of the living. This is David’s prayer for
rescue. The Lord is the sustainer and preserver of David’s life. We place our
confidence in Him for He is the one who preserves us.
Wednesday,
15 March 2023—1
Samuel 16:1-13—God gives light to see
character—Samuel anoints David to succeed Saul as king. Here is a story of a
shepherd boy who is made a king. Because God was sorry he ever chose Saul to be
the first king of Israel, he instructed Samuel to secretly anoint a successor
to Saul. He is sent to the home of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint a replacement
for Saul. Which one of the eight sons of Jesse did God want as king? All seven
sons were interviewed but none satisfied God’s choice. The youngest, David, was
in the fields caring for his father’s sheep. Samuel ordered him brought to him.
Seeing the handsome youth, Samuel at once recognized him as God’s choice,
anointed him king, and then departed. The Spirit that enlightened Samuel now
rested mightily upon David.
Thursday, 16
March 2023—Ephesians 5:8-14—Christians live in the light of
Christ. Christians are the children of light. Paul writes to people who have
become Christians. He refers to their former lives of sin as “darkness.” Now
they are children of light and are to live as lights in terms of what is good,
right, and true.
There is a contrast between before and after Christ, between God
and Satan, light and darkness, good and evil. Christians are to have no part in
the works of darkness but rather they are to expose evil to the light. In his
closing words, Paul calls for the dead (“asleep”) in sin to rise in the light
of Christ.
Friday, 17 March
2023—John 9:1-41—In the Gospel
lesson Jesus, the Light, gives spiritual
vision. A man born blind receives
physical and spiritual sight. It takes a whole chapter to tell the story of how
Jesus brings spiritual light to a man born blind.
The actual miracle is told in a few verses, but the healing gives
an occasion for Jesus to bring a man from agnosticism to faith. We see the
formation of faith: from “the man called Jesus,” to “prophet,” to “a man from
God” to “Son of Man.” In contrast to the light of the healed man, the Pharisees
are in the darkness of sin and unbelief.
In Jesus’ day the popular view was that sin caused suffering. In
the case of the man born blind, the disciples asked whose sin caused the
handicap. Jesus answered that no one sinned in this case. Some suffering is
caused by sin, but we should see suffering as an opportunity for God’s healing.
Saturday, 18
March 2023—Romans 8:29; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 3:18—Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is On My Heart
Imprint Your Image (LSB #422).
The knowledge of God is not an abstract concept but is couched in love
and mixed with purpose. God not only knew us before we had any knowledge of
Him, but He also knew us in the sense of choosing us by His grace before the
foundation of the world. The reason God foreknew, predestined and conformed
believers to Christ’s likeness is that the Son might hold the position of
highest honor in the great family of God.
The Strong
Name of the Trinity – March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day and the hymn, “I Bind unto Myself Today” LSB #604 is
attributed to Patrick. Known as the apostle to the Irish people, he used the
shamrock to explain the Trinity to the people. The hymn beautifully explains
the Trinity:
“ I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.”
Collect for Psalm 142: Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross and left
alone by Your disciples, You called on Your Father with a mighty cry as You
gave up Your spirit. Deliver us from the prison of affliction, and by Yourself
our inheritance in the land of the living, where with the Father and the Holy
Spirit You are blessed now and forever.
Sources:
Prayers from Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series A by John Brokhoff © 1980 CSS
Publishing Lima OH
For All the Saints A Prayer Book for and By the Church Vol. II © 1995 by
the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
Image of the
Trinity copyright © Higher Things
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