Verse
for the week: He shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death and…bore the
sins of many. Isaiah 53.12
Prayer of the Day:
Holy God, source of all love, on the night of his betrayal, Jesus
gave his disciples a new commandment: To love one another as he had loved
them. By your Holy Spirit write this
commandment on our hearts and keep it in our behavior; through your Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever. Amen.
Bible
reading for the day: Mark 14.17-72 (scripture – which many times will
recount a thousand years in one sentence – slows way down to tell in detail the
truth of this evening, these hours.)
And when it was evening, he came with
the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table
and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray
me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began
to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He
said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread
into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man
goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of
Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been
born.”
22 And
as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and
gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And
he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they
all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly,
I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day
when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 And
when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, “You will
all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the
sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised
up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter
said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus
said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster
crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he
said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all
said the same.
32 And
they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his
disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he
took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly
distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to
them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here
and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he
fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour
might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba,
Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from
me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 And
he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you
asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch
and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak.”39 And again he went
away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And
again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy,
and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And
he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and
taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of
Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise,
let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
43 And
immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve,
and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the
scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had
given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead
him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went
up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And
they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one
of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the
high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said
to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to
capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the
temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be
fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled.
51 And
a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body.
And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth
and ran away naked.
53 And they
led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the
scribes came together. 54 And Peter had
followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high
priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the
fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole
council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they
found none. 56 For many bore false witness against
him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And
some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We
heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands,
and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’” 59 Yet
even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And
the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to
make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he
remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are
you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”62 And
Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the
right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And
the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we
need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is
your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And
some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him,
saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.
66 And
as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high
priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming
himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene,
Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither
know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the
gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And
the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is
one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after
a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of
them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to
invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you
speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster
crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to
him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three
times.” And he broke down and wept.
Prayer (based on TRIP** method): Gracious
and almighty Father, you give yourself for the forgiveness of disciples who run
away instead of follow you, for sinners who deny you instead of confess you,
for beloved ones who dine at your table and yet betray you; in other words: you
give yourself for me. Thank you! When I
and your church betray and fall away, when we fall asleep, when our testimony
is false and empty of your Word… retrieve us O Lord, restore us to you. You are
the Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, our blessed and only redeemer. In your name, Jesus, amen.
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking (of the Lord’s
supper)?
It is pointed out in these words: “Given and shed for you
for the forgiveness of sins.” Through these words the forgiveness of sin, life,
and salvation are given to us in the Sacrament, for where there is forgiveness
of sin, there is also life and salvation.
(from The Small Catechism, by Martin Luther ©Reclaim Resources,
Sola Publishing, 2011)
Anthem: for a
meditation on Christ’s passion, put your ear buds in or get to a personal space
and listen to Samuel Barber’s “Angus Dei”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOwRW8ee4S8
Benediction:
O taste and see that the
LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)
*There are many patterns for devotions. This pattern has been followed by God’s
people for centuries.
**The T.R.I.P. approach to
prayer is based on the way Martin Luther prayed and taught others to pray. It was later developed by Walter and Ingrid
Trobisch and then adapted by Mount Carmel Ministries (Alexandria, MN www.dailytext.com). The method is founded on scripture and easy
to remember: T:
thanksgiving
R: regret
(repentance)
I:
intercession (asking God to take a specific action)
P:
plan or purpose
Reading a biblical text and
then applying this method gives one a sound, simple way to form one’s
prayers...not to mention that it helps one learn how to faithfully reflect on
God’s Word and talk to God.
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