Calendar

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: Deuteronomy 34:1–12\rPsalm: Psalm 99; antiphon: v. 9\rEpistle: Hebrews 3:1–6\rGospel: Luke 9:28–36\rIntroit: Psalm 84:1–2, 9, 11; antiphon: v. 4\rGradual: Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8\rVerse: Psalm 45:2a\r\rThe Glory of God Is Manifested in the Body of Christ\r \r“Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant,” but Christ Jesus “has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Heb. 3:3, 5). A beloved and well-pleasing Son, faithful even to the point of death, Jesus’ own body was raised up on the third day as the house of God, and He has brought us into that house through the waters of Holy Baptism (Heb. 3:6). Thus, it was not Moses, the lawgiver, but his successor, Joshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus), who led the people into the Promised Land (Deut. 34:1–4, 9). Now, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the New Testament Joshua appears in the glory that He is about to manifest by His “departure” (exodus) in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Having entered the waters of the Jordan in His Baptism, He passed through those waters and entered into glory by His cross and Passion. What He thereby accomplished in His own flesh and blood, crucified and risen, He reveals and gives to His Body, the Church, by the means of His Word. Therefore, the Father declares from heaven, “Listen to him!” (Luke 9:35).\r \r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Black\r\rOld Testament: Joel 2:12–19\rPsalm: Psalm 51:1–13; antiphon: v. 17\rPsalm: Psalm 51; antiphon: v. 17\rEpistle: 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10\rGospel: Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21\rIntroit: Psalm 51:1–3, 10–12; antiphon: v. 17\rGradual: Hebrews 12:2\rVerse: Joel 2:13b\r\rReturn to the Lord Your God with All Your Heart\r \rOn Ash Wednesday, we come down from the mountain with Jesus and set our face with His toward the cross in Jerusalem. We make our pilgrimage with Him by the way of repentance, and thus return to the dying and rising of Holy Baptism. For Christ Jesus, “who knew no sin,” became our sin, so that by His death we are released from sin, and in His resurrection we “become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Since God has thereby reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, “now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). He summons you to return to Him with all your heart because He is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). Do so in faith and confidence before Him, and pray to Him as your Father. Give to the needy from a heart of love, and fast for the sake of repentance (Matt. 6:3–4, 6, 17–18).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Purple\r\rOld Testament: Deuteronomy 26:1–11\rPsalm: Psalm 91:1–13; antiphon: v. 1\rEpistle: Romans 10:8b–13\rGospel: Luke 4:1–13\rIntroit: Psalm 91:9–13; antiphon: vv. 15–16\rGradual: Hebrews 12:2\rVerse: Ephesians 6:11\r\rJesus Christ Is Our Champion Against the Devil\r \rJesus Christ, our champion against the devil, endures and overcomes “every temptation” (Luke 4:13) on our behalf. He worships the Lord, His God, and serves Him only by trusting the Word of His Father: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Jesus’ victory is now ours through His gracious Word, which is not far away but near us — in our mouth and in our heart, in the proclamation of repentance and faith. For “with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom. 10:10). Our confession of Christ includes the prayer of faith, which is not disappointed, “for ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10:13). The Lord is not oblivious to “our affliction, our toil, and our oppression” (Deut. 26:7), but has mercy upon us. He has brought us out of bondage through the “signs and wonders” of Holy Baptism, “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut. 26:8), and now He leads us by His Spirit even in the wilderness.\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Purple\r\rOld Testament: Jeremiah 26:8–15\rPsalm: Psalm 4; antiphon: v. 8\rEpistle: Philippians 3:17—4:1\rGospel: Luke 13:31–35\rIntroit: Psalm 74:1–3; antiphon: Psalm 69:9\rGradual: Hebrews 12:2\rVerse: Luke 13:35\r\rJesus Rescues Us from Death and Brings Us into Heaven\r \rThe prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached “all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people” (Jer. 26:8). He called the people to repentance, lest the Lord’s judgment come upon them. The violence that Jeremiah suffered for this preaching foreshadowed the cross and Passion of Christ Jesus, who suffered the judgment of God for the redemption of all people. For Jesus “comes in the name of the Lord” (Luke 13:35) in order to lay down His life for the sins of the world. Earthly Jerusalem was blind to His gracious visitation, and it put Him to death like the prophets before Him. Yet, His sacrifice upon the cross became the cornerstone of the new Jerusalem, His Church. He visits us today in mercy with His preaching of forgiveness, to gather us to Himself within that holy city, “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34), for “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). \r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: 2 Samuel 7:4–16\rPsalm: Psalm 127; antiphon: v. 1a\rEpistle: Romans 4:13–18\rGospel: Matthew 2:13–15, 19–23\rIntroit: Psalm 89:1, 5, 15–16; antiphon: Psalm 128:1\rGradual: Psalm 45:6–7b\rVerse: Matthew 1:24a\r\rSt. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus\r \rIt was King David’s idea to build a permanent house for the ark of the covenant and the Lord’s name (2 Sam. 7:5–7). The temple he planned was built by King Solomon, but it was never really David or Solomon who housed and protected God. “The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house” (2 Sam. 7:11). St. Joseph was not Jesus’ true father, since the child “conceived in [Mary] is from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:20). The Church commemorates him instead as the “guardian of Jesus.” Heeding the word of God’s angels, protecting the unborn Christ, sparing the infant Jesus from Herod’s wrath, seeing Him “out of Egypt” again (Matt. 2:13–23), and bringing Him up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), Joseph is an example for all Christian fathers and guardians. But as with David “housing” the Lord who made a house for him, Joseph was never really the guardian. Christ was. His name is “Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). The “offspring” promised to Abraham and renewed in the promises to David is the One “who gives life to the dead” (Rom. 4:16–18). He is David’s King, Abraham’s Lord, Joseph’s Guardian and our Savior.\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Purple\r\rOld Testament: Ezekiel 33:7–20\rPsalm: Psalm 85; antiphon: v. 8\rEpistle: 1 Corinthians 10:1–13\rGospel: Luke 13:1–9\rIntroit: Psalm 5:4–8; antiphon: Psalm 1:6\rGradual: Hebrews 12:2\rVerse: 2 Peter 3:9b, c\r\rJesus Calls You to Repentance\r \r“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). By this warning, the Lord would turn us away from wickedness and bring us to life in Himself. For He is patient with us, that we would not be cut down in our sin but live and bear fruit in Him. As He lives, the Lord has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). So the Scriptures have been “written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come” (1 Cor. 10:11), that we should not desire evil but trust in Christ. He alone is faithful, the Rock who feeds us with His “spiritual food” and pours out His “spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3–4).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: White\r\rOld Testament: Isaiah 7:10–14\rPsalm: Psalm 45:7–17; antiphon: v. 6\rEpistle: Hebrews 10:4–10\rGospel: Luke 1:26–38\rIntroit: Psalm 34:1–3; antiphon: Isaiah 62:11b\rGradual: Psalm 45:6–7b\rVerse: Luke 1:38a\rVerse: Luke 1:46b–47; 2:30–31\r\rIncarnate by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary and Made Man\r \r“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). But “nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). He opens ears to hear and wombs to conceive. “Let it be to me according to your word,” says St. Mary (Luke 1:38). The Most High who once dwelt in the tabernacle comes to overshadow Mary, who believes the angel’s “annunciation” (Luke 1:35). “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). In Jesus Christ, God is with us — even from the moment of His conception. This miracle, that Mary should become the mother of God, will be a sign against the proud in Israel; it is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and David. “I delight to do your will, O my God,” says Christ (Ps. 40:8). From Mary’s flesh, the Most High has prepared a body for His Son (Heb. 10:5), a body to be offered “once for all” as the sacrifice that alone takes away sins and gives a righteousness apart from the Law (Heb. 10:10). Through His conception, life and death, we have been sanctified. God favors us in this child. And like the blessed Virgin Mary, blessed “are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship

Color: Purple\r\rOld Testament: Isaiah 12:1–6\rPsalm: Psalm 32; antiphon: v. 11\rEpistle: 2 Corinthians 5:16–21\rGospel: Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32\rIntroit: Psalm 51:2–6; antiphon: v. 1\rGradual: Hebrews 12:2\rVerse: Luke 15:22a, 24a\r\rJesus Christ Has Reconciled Us to the Father\r \rGod the Father has opened His heart to us in love. While we were “still a long way off,” He saw us and “felt compassion” (Luke 15:20). Therefore, He gave His only begotten Son for us, making “him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). By the ministry of reconciliation, He runs to us, embraces us in mercy and clothes us with His glory as beloved sons in Christ Jesus. And so we give thanks unto the Lord our God, who has taken away our sins and turned His anger from us (Is. 12:1). Because He has become our salvation, our strength and our song, we “will trust, and will not be afraid” (Is. 12:2).\r\rLectionary summary © 2021 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Used by permission. http://lcms.org/worship