Verse of the week: “he shall divide the spoil with
the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and… he bore the sin of
many,” Is 53.12
Prayer of the week:
O God, holy and eternal, you call us into the fellowship of that holy
suffering by which your dear Son, our Savior, conquered sin, death and the
power of the devil. Grant that we may
trust his passion with true devotion, accept the cross as his disciples, and
that your holy will be done among us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[K.B. Ritter, Gebete fur das Jahr der Kirche, 2nd edition
(Kassel: Johannes Stauda-Verlag, 1948), p. 249, revised]
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 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)
*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.
