Ash Wednesday

In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?” These words immediately precede what we heard from the prophet Joel, and if you go all the way back to the beginning of chapter two in his prophecy, you will encounter more strong language that portrays how sin and sinners shall shake as an earthquake at encountering the terrible Day ofRead More →

✠ Psalmody: Wisdom 11:23a, 24b, 23c;Psalm 57:1a;Psalm 57:1a, 3a;Psalm 103:10;79:8-9;Psalm 30:1–2;Psalm 1:2b, 3b ✠ Lection: Joel 2:12–19; 2 Peter 1:2–11; Matthew 6:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As you sit with ashes upon your head this evening reminded of your mortality, take heart, for the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Even mortality is good news in Jesus Christ. It is good news in winter, spring, and summer. It is good news in somber Lent when we are bidden by God to takeRead More →

Ash Wednesday – Wednesday 14 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 69:16,1;31:2b–3;1, 5, 9, 16;57:1a, 3a;103:10;79:8, 9 ✠ Lection: Joel 2:12–19;2 Peter 1:2–11;St. Matthew 6:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hypocrisy is very rewarding, especially if you’re good at it. To be a hypocrite is to be aware, to acknowledge, to desire something that is good and to do what is necessary to obtain it. In and of itself, such a tactic in life isn’t necessarily bad. If we see godly virtue as that which is good, then it is wise to pursue it, toRead More →