“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28b-31
We are constantly looking for loopholes when it comes to the second greatest commandment: loving others as ourselves. But God doesn’t give us any.
When we try to get away with loving just some He clarifies: love everyone. Always.
“Good Friday.” Such a strange name for the day when the innocent Savior of humanity and God’s Son died horribly. Yet, for us, the day marks a pivotal event in history. A holy and unbelievable imbalanced exchange: His perfection and innocence for our sins and guilt.
And twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and put a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe and put His own clothes on Him and led Him away to crucify Him.
Matthew 27:29-31
Lord, have mercy!
And He did. Have mercy. For us. When we were still in sin and rebellion.
We worship and “celebrate” this event and exchange with a form of a “Tenebrae” service. Tenebrae means “darkness” and the service takes its name from the ceremony of extinguishing the worship candles in such a way that the Church is gradually cast into darkness, except for the light of a single candle. The focus of the Tenebrae is the consequence of sin and the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice. The worship ends in darkness and silence, symbolizing our Savior’s death upon the cross. The single candle symbolizes the hope of our Savior’s resurrection. At the completion of the Tenebrae service, the worshipers are asked to leave in silence, in order to maintain the spirit of the Good Friday commemoration of our Savior’s crucifixion.
Experience the depth of God’s love for you on Good Friday so that you can sour with the news of His resurrection on Easter Sunday!
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28b-31
When we do things it is not normally done in passion, with our whole being!
But that is exactly how God calls us to Love Him!
He wants no mediocre love. He wants no partial commitment.
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28b-31
This week we continue our journey of LOVE by looking at another part of God’s command in Deuteronomy 6: teaching about God and talking about Him.
By doing so, we share not only Who He is, but what He has done and how He acts in Love through His promised Messiah, Jesus.
If we aren’t teaching and sharing Him, we likely aren’t acting in love, either.
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28b-31
LOVE is our Lenten theme and focus as we see what this greatest commandment entails, means, and how it should be played out.
This first week will look at the first part of the commandment – that we cannot love unless we know Who it is we are called to Love: the One True, Triune God!
Not other ‘gods’; not other people; not ourselves. Him and Him alone! He is God! He is who we are Called to Love! Anything else is idolatry!
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
Today is Ash Wednesday, when we are “marked by Christ, the Crucified” with an ash cross on our foreheads and remember that “we are dust, and to dust we shall return.“
It also marks the beginning of our Lenten journey.
We do all this in solemn reflection on our sins, His cross, and our forgiveness through faith in Him. But it’s important for us to know that we also do this in the same way He did His life and sacrifice – in LOVE!
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
Luke 9:35
Today we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday – how God showed His approval of Jesus through His transfiguration with Moses and Elijah – and most importantly through His words, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
And, we are blessed with the Sacrament of Holy Baptism for Gabriel Sánchez, too!
Join us on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022, at 6:00 PM for Ash Wednesday worship and the Imposition of Ashes.
NOTE the change in time from previous years: 6:00 PM, NOT7:00 PM.
The purpose of repentance is not to be swallowed up by guilt. It is to be freed from a dark and destructive direction by God’s wakening Word, and to be sent on a new path by the sin-conquering Savior. It’s what we all need.
THE REV. MIKE NEWMAN PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS DISTRICT OF THE LC-MS
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our Lenten journey, which culminates on Easter Sunday with the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.
On that night at worship we mark our foreheads with an ash cross and, as that cross is marked, we are reminded of our sins. As we are marked by Jesus’ sacrifice; we are drawn to the realization that “[we] are dust, and to dust [we] shall return” (Genesis 3:19).
On Ash Wednesday and throughout the season of Lent, we also focus on our sins, on repentance, and on our broken world; seeing how we and all of creation has fallen far short of God’s intention and glory.
But we do not despair because we look to the certain hope that is ours through the forgiveness of our sins given to us freely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus.
THE IMPOSITION OF ASHES
Everything we experience in life is
finite and temporal, including our own lives. As the Scripture reports, we came
from the dust of the ground and we will return to the dust of the ground. (Genesis 3:19 & Ecclesiastes 3:20)
For many centuries the use of ashes has symbolized repentance. Imposing ashes in the form of a cross on the forehead of the worshipper on Ash Wednesday is a vivid reminder that such a person has been redeemed by Christ the Crucified. It is a symbol, not primarily of our sins, but upon the forgiveness of them through faith in Jesus.
As Ash Wednesday is a somber time as we remember that Jesus willingly suffering and death come as a result of our sins and His love. As such, at the conclusion of worship that day, we exit the church in silence.
“Repentance slays selfish pride, turns us from sin’s siren call, quiets arrogant arguments, tames out-of-control egos, pulls us back from distraction, leads us to restoration of relationships, places us on the pathway of walking with God, and restores our hearts with compassion and grace.
We need this personally. We need this as schools and congregations. We need this as a District. We need this as a Synod. We need this as Christ’s Church.”
The Rev. Mike Newman President of the Texas District of the LC-MS
This week we will continue our look at the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Some of what we’re covering include:
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 5:54-55
WHY
Forgiveness
Life / Salvation
Commanded by God
HOW
through Faith
in Humility
with Examination / Understanding
The Lord’s Supper is for those
Who are baptized children of God
Who sincerely repent of their sins
Believe Jesus has forgiven their sins
Who recognize the real presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood at the Lord’s Table
Keep in mind:
We believe, teach, and confess that there is only one kind of unworthy guest, those who do not believe. Of them it is written, “Those who do not believe are condemned already” [John 3:18]. The unworthy use of the holy sacrament increases, magnifies, and aggravates this condemnation (1 Cor. 11:27, 29)
