Manuscript for Lent 5

 + Fifth Sunday in Lent +

 

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

440 JESUS, I WILL PONDER NOW

5 If my sins give me alarm
    And my conscience grieve me,
Let Your cross my fear disarm;
    Peace of conscience give me.
Help me see forgiveness won
    By Your holy passion.
If for me He slays His Son,
    God must have compassion!

6 Graciously my faith renew;
    Help me bear my crosses,
Learning humbleness from You,
    Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give You love for love!
    Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heav’n above
    Sing Your praise forever.

Tune and text: Public domain

 

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

 

OLD TESTAMENT READING Genesis 22:1–14

¹After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ²He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

⁹When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ¹²He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

 

A This is the Word of the Lord.

 

 

EPISTLE Hebrews 9:11–15

¹¹When Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

¹⁵Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

 

A This is the Word of the Lord.

 

 

HOLY GOSPEL

P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the eighth chapter.

 

⁴⁶“Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

⁴⁸The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” ⁴⁹Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” ⁵²The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ ⁵³Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ ⁵⁵But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. ⁵⁶Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” ⁵⁷So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” ⁵⁸Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” ⁵⁹So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

 

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Apostles’ CREED

 

SERMON

 

John 8:58. Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

“I am”. Says Jesus. That’s got to be one of the most powerful sentences ever uttered by a man. The simple present tense. Jesus is outside of the passing of time as we mortal humans perceive it. His life, his existence from forever before and for forever after is more than we are able to conceptualize or relate to. So He says it with these two words, “I am.”

Often Jesus would use those two little words, “I am”, to help us understand who He is and what He does. Just a few verses earlier in this chapter, he had said, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” On other occasions He would say, “I am the Bread of Life.” “I am the Good Shepherd.” “I am the Resurrection.” “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

When you or I use that little word “am” it’s not so significant. We say, “I’m hungry,” “I’m Happy,” “I’m a Hawkeye.” Notice how the word “am” gets contracted into almost nothing in English. Likewise in the languages Jesus would have been speaking, Greek and Hebrew. But Jesus makes it emphatic. “I am.”

Everyone else, each of us, and everyone else we know, everything else we come across, has a start and a beginning. There was once when we were not. The Rocky Mountains stand so strong and stable and unmoving. But they were brought into existence from nothing. They might look like they’re eternal, but a time is coming when they will be no more.  No one else can so emphatically use that verb “to be”, no one except our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father who are one with the Holy Spirit. This is a truth that even old Abraham knew and believed.

“Before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus said, Centuries before Jesus came to earth, Abraham knew him. He was expecting the Lord, and looking forward to his work of saving the souls of our lost race. Abraham trusted what was promised. He counted on it. We get some little clues of that in the Old Testament reading today. Abraham had to endure a very hard test of faith but he believed. A rich man, Abraham, he usually travelled with an entourage. So when he set out to sacrifice his son Isaac as God commanded, Abraham took two servants along. As he approached the mountain where the Sacrifice was to take place, he tells the servants, “Wait here with the donkey, I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” He didn’t know how, but He knew the Lord would rescue him and Isaac. They would come again, even if it took God raising his son, Isaac from the dead. Abraham believed the promises. He believed the one, whom he had not seen yet, the one who would say, “If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.” And that’s how Abraham became the father of all believers.

The Jews did not believe this.  The Jews argued with Jesus and accused him of all sorts of nasty things. John, the apostle of Jesus, wrote this down, describing the conversation, and he doesn’t try to sugarcoat anything. The Jews do really come out as the bad guys, the way John tells it. Now, he doesn’t say these derogatory things against them because of their race or nationality. No, their problem that comes out in John’s telling, is their beliefs and their behavior against Jesus. To say critical things against any people is frowned upon in our day and age. John thought it necessary to have his reader recognize and understand false belief and bad behavior, avoid such, and instead follow good examples. How should the modern listener respond to John’s critical comments about the Jews? Well it shouldn’t make anyone feel superior. But it’s a warning to the readers to critically examine themselves. Jesus had to tell the Jews, “The reason why you do not hear the words of God is that you are not of God.”

The reader should see that and gasp, “May that never be said of me! O Lord, Jesus may you never have to get after me for not listening and believing your Word. Help me to hear and believe, Good Lord.

These bad guys of the scene, the antagonistic Jews there, serve as the warning for us. They didn’t like what Jesus said. They didn’t want to believe Him when He said, “I am.” To believe Jesus when He says, “I am,” a person’s gotta admit, Jesus is. And I’m not.

Jesus is the Light of the world. We have to admit, we would be in darkness without him. We don’t even have a spark within us to do anything.

Jesus says, I am the Resurrection and the Life. So we have to believe that and joyfully accept that, acknowledging that we have no life within us. Apart from him, we’re dead men walking.

Jesus says, “I am.” and the believer says, yes you are, and without you I am not. But with you I am alive, I am forgiven, I am yours.

Amen.

 

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Almighty and eternal God, worthy to be held in reverence by all the children of men, we give you humble and hearty thanks for the countless blessings which without any merit or worthiness on our part you have bestowed on us.

We praise you especially that you have preserved for us your saving Word and the holy sacraments.  And we implore you, O Lord, to grant and preserve to your holy Church throughout the world purity of doctrine and faithful pastors to preach your Word with power.  Help all who hear the Word rightly to understand and truly to believe it.  Send laborers into your harvest, and open the door of faith to those who do not know you.  In mercy remember the enemies of your Church and grant them repentance to life.  Protect and defend your Church in all tribulation and danger.  Strengthen us and all fellow Christians to set our hope fully on the grace revealed in Christ, and help us to fight the good fight of faith that in the end we may receive the salvation of our souls.

Bestow your grace on all nations of the earth.  Bless especially our country and its inhabitants and all who are in authority.  Let your glory dwell in our land that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may everywhere abound.  We commend to you the care of all our schools and ask you to grant that our children may grow in useful knowledge and Christian virtue and bring forth wholesome fruits of life.

Graciously defend us from all calamity by fire and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine, and from every other evil.  Protect and prosper everyone in his rightful calling, and let all useful arts flourish among us.  Be the God and Father of the widow and the fatherless, the helper of the sick and needy, and the comforter of the forsaken and distressed.

Accept, we implore you, our bodies and souls, our hearts and minds, our talents and powers, together with the offerings we bring before you, for your praise and service.

As we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us by true faith and a godly life to prepare for the world to come, doing the work you have given us to do while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work.  And when our last hour comes, support us by your power, and receive us into your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

     hallowed be Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

BENEDICAMUS

A Bless we the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

BENEDICTION

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

C Amen.

 

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Divine Service, Setting Three from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.