On the Church calendar we remember and recall Joseph husband of Mary guardian of Jesus
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Almighty God, from the house of Your servant David You raised up Jospeh to be the guardian of Your incarnate Son and the husband of His mother Mary. Grant us grace to follow the example of this faithful workman who heeding Your counsel and obeying Your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Treasury of Daily Prayer copyright 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
Psalm118:19-29 key verse, verse 26—Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the housed of the Lord we bless you. The one who with God’s help has defeated the enemies is blessed. Yet as we look deeper at this passage we will see that it is written in the plural and, of course, this makes it a reference to God and to Christ in particular. When the crowd would quote these verses upon Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, we see Divine prophecy being fulfilled.
Our Lord is forever faithful. Our Lord has brought deliverance. Our Savior has come, and this is the powerful truth and thanksgiving that this song announces. Salvation has arrived; there is no more waiting because He’s here. Jesus, the Messiah, comes to fulfill and grant us all victory. Jesus is Lord! God, who is forever good, extended Himself to us through Jesus Christ and gave us salvation. “Just as the Psalmist was delivered by God, so now Christ empowers us, comforts us, and snatches us out of the realm of death. All this is done… so that we might proclaim the deeds of the Lord.” 1
“The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (118:23-24,NIV) Have we not all witnessed marvelous things the Lord has done for us, or those around us? Have we not experience deliverance? So what are we waiting for? We all desperately need to experience and witness the vast love of God. We have been called to announce His life, death and resurrection as our life proclamation!
Collect for Psalm 118: Lord God, your Son rejected by the builders, has become the cornerstone of the Church. Shed rays of your glory upon your Church, that it may be seen as the gate of salvation open to all nations. Let cries of joy and exultation ring out from its courts to celebrate the wonder of Christ’s resurrection now and forever. 2
The theme for Palm Sunday reminds us that Lent is a time of opportunity. Our lessons ask us to come to a decision as we ponder who is this Jesus who comes riding on a donkey through the streets of Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament lesson (Zechariah 9:9-10), our king comes with a promise. In the Epistle lesson (Philippians 2:5-11), in humility, Christ came to earth to die. In the Gospel lesson (John 20:20-43), Christ came to Jerusalem to be king. The Psalms and hymn for the day fill in to round out this basic theme.
On Sunday Christ is hailed as King and Lord. By Friday He would be dead. Yet in His rejection do we find life eternal, peace, and rest. We are preparing for the most important week of the Church Year. The cross is coming into clear focus. What do you think of Jesus? How you answer this question will determine your destiny.
Psalm 24:7-10; antiphon, Psalm 118:26—In the antiphon the Psalmist echoes the cries of the crowd on that first Palm Sunday, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The long sought after King has finally arrived. Along with the children and crowd, we hail Jesus as King and God forever.
Heaven's gates are called everlasting, because they shall endure for ever, or because they be the doors unto the life which is everlasting.
Our Lord Jesus Christ could ascend into the hill of the Lord because his hands were clean and his heart was pure, and if we, by faith in him, are conformed to his image we shall enter too. We have here a picture of our Lord's glorious ascent. We see him rising from amidst the little group upon Olivet, and as the cloud receives him, angels reverently escort him to the gates of heaven.
Collect for Psalm 24: Lord God ruler and guide of heaven and earth, you made your Son a priest and brought him into your everlasting temple. Open our hearts tht the King of glory may enter and bring us rejoicing to your holy mountain, where you live and reign one God, now and forever.
Sources:
Hosanna copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
Collect for Psalm 24, For All the Saints, A Prayerbook for and by the Church copyright 1995 The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, Delhi, NY
Today on the church calendar we remember Patrick missionary of Ireland.
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Almighty and ever living God, as You used Patrick to teach the people of Ireland the truth of the eternal Trinity so make us faithful in all matters of teaching and godly living to the praise and honor of Your most holy name.
Treasury of Daily Prayer copyright 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
The Trinity copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
Icon of St, Patrick copyright Google Images
Treasury of Daily Prayer copyright 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis
Collect for Palm Sunday - Almighty and everlasting God the Father, who sent Your Son to take our nature upon Him and to suffer death on the cross that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility, mercifully grant that we may both follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ in His patience and also have our portion in His resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The Son of David Ascends His Throne and Reigns in Love from His Cross
The Son of David comes in gentle humility, “sitting on a donkey’s colt,” yet as the King of Israel “in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13–15). He comes to be lifted up in glory on the cross in order to cast out “the ruler of this world” and draw all people to Himself (John 12:23–32). The Church is thus called to “rejoice greatly,” because her King comes with salvation, and “he shall speak peace to the nations” (Zechariah 9:9–10). As He is anointed “beforehand for burial” (Mark 14:8), He also ascends His royal throne as “the King of the Jews” by way of His Passion (Mark 15:2, 17–19, 26). He goes “as it is written of him,” wherefore “you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power” (Mark 14:21, 62). For the glory of God is love, which crescendos in the humble obedience and voluntary self-sacrifice of the Son of God for the salvation of sinners. So, God the Father has “highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9), that He might reign over us in love with the forgiveness of His cross.
The hymn of the Day is Jesus, I My Cross have Taken. Jesus willingly bore our sins in His body, and carried them to the cross. We, who have been incorporated into the body of Christ by our baptisms, must also bear crosses in this life. When our hour of trial comes, we beseech the Lord that He would give us the strength gladly to bear whatever cross He would.
Luther writes concerning this, in the Large Catechism: So there is just as great a need, as in all the other petitions that we pray without ceasing: “Dear Father, Your will be done, not the devil’s will or our enemies’ or anything that would persecute and suppress Your holy Word or hinder Your kingdom. Grant that we may bear with patience and overcome whatever is to be endured because of Your Word and kingdom, so that our poor flesh may not yield or fall away because of weakness or sluggishness.”
Collect for the Fifth Sunday in Lent—Almighty and everlasting God, who hast willed that Thy Son should bear for us the pains of the cross that Thou might remove from us the power of the adversary, help us so to remember and give thanks for our Lord’s Passion that we may obtain remission of sins and redemption from everlasting death; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
For blessing on the Word: Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have promised, Your Word may achieve the purpose for which You send it; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
