40 Days in the Season of Lent
The Weeks of Lent
When Does Lent Start?
The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday may start as early as February 6 or as late as March 10, depending on the year. Ash Wednesday occurs 46 days before Easter each year and concludes on Holy Saturday before Easter Sunday.
Lent is six weeks of solemn reflection and remembrance of Christ Jesus. The season of Lent is customarily a time of fasting and abstaining from worldly activities to repent and focus our hearts and minds on His life, death, burial, resurrection, and triumph over death.
Lent can benefit believers in the same way Advent prepares us for Christmas. This season of Lent provides opportunities for Christians to strengthen their spiritual discipline together as a family. Instead of getting caught up in Easter egg hunts, Lenten can help you focus on the original essence of Easter and what Jesus' sacrifice means for our redemption.
Fix Our Eyes on Jesus Christ
O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, the founder, and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before He endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Gradual, based on Hebrews 12:2)
When the characters in the Passion narrative look at Jesus, what do they see? In most cases, people needed to understand who He was and what He was doing. In some cases, by faith, people recognized Him immediately. Eyes on Jesus focus on the Passion, according to St. Mark. We will examine how the various people around the Lord viewed Himโand how we should view Him. We will "fix our eyes" on what He has done to save us from our sins by His holy, precious blood and innocent sufferings and death and celebrate what God sees on account of His work: our justification for His sake.
Ash Wednesday: ย The Beginning of Lent
On Ash Wednesday, we will see how, despite Jesus' repeated predictions about His upcoming Passion, the disciples with "Misjudging Eyes" fail to recognize that soon He will not be with them. They cannot see the anonymous woman's anointing of Jesus as preparation for His burial. Jesus sees her actions as a beautiful deed that people worldwide will proclaim wherever people hear the Gospel.
First Week of Lent
At our midweek service after the First Sunday of Lenten, we will look through Judas's "Betraying Eyes" and learn why he did this awful deed. Yet the behind-the-scenes reality is that Jesus was "handed over" (another way of translating the verb for "betray") by God the Father Himself so that Christ could die for the sin of the world.
Second Week of Lent
"Sleepy Eyes" is the theme for the second week of Lenten. In Gethsemane, Jesus' inner circle of Peter, James, and John cannot keep their eyes open to watch and pray with Jesus for even an hour while He comes to see that His Father's will is that He drinks the cup of God's wrath when He comes to the "hour" of His suffering.
Third Week of Lent
In the third week of Lenten, we stare into the "Denying Eyes" of Peter and the other apostles. They could not see how they could ever fall away from Jesus. After His betrayal by Judas, ten of them flee. When spotted by a servant girl, Peter sees that his neck is on the line. Peter sees fit to deny Jesus, which leads to his own eyes weeping in remorse. We sinners likewise deny our Lord in many ways. Instead, Jesus denies Himself to take up the cross for our salvation.
Fourth Week of Lent
"Murderous Eyes" is the theme of week four of Lenten. The chief priests and scribes saw Jesus as an obstacle to rid by murdering Him through the Roman judicial system. Yet during the Passover festival, they would unwittingly bring about the Father's sacrifice of the ultimate Passover Lamb.
Fifth Week of Lent
In the fifth week of Lenten, we look through the "Worldly Eyes" of Pilate, the Jewish leaders, and the Roman soldiers. Pilate can only view matters in a worldly, pragmatic way, wishing to appease the earthly Jewish leaders and crowd, so he consents to hand Jesus over for crucifixion. The soldiers see the opposite of an earthly king, but their ironic hailing of Him as "King of the Jews" proclaims who He truly is. The world looks for power and glory; God's way is suffering and the cross
Maundy Thursday
On Maundy Thursday, there is "More than Meets the Eye" to the Lord's Supper. We will look into the Old Testament background of the Last Supper and rejoice in the mystery that He, in and with bread and wine, gives us His body and blood to deliver the benefits of His Passion.
Good Friday
On Good Friday, we look through "God's Eyes" to see what is happening during the Passion: the once-for-all atonement for the sin of the whole world and the justification of all sinners on Easter.
Easter Sunday
Finally, Easter Sunday gazes upon "Angel Eyes." The angel in the tomb knows the whole story of Jesus' resurrection. When he sees the women, he proclaims the Gospel, shows them where His body had formerly laid, and tells them they can see Jesus themselves in Galilee. Likewise, the "angels" or messengers of the Church in the apostolic ministry tell God's people where they can find Jesus and His salvation through the Means of Grace.
With Eyes on Jesus as our Lenten theme, we will continuously focus on Christ crucified, buried, and risen for our justification. That vision will never disappoint, for by trusting in Jesus. He promises we will gaze upon His beautiful face by faith and forever in heaven! We would love to have you join us!
Easter Sunday 2020 - Trinity Lutheran Church
Daily Devotions for Lent
A limited number of "Eyes On Jesus" Daily Devotions for Lenten and Easter, authored by Lisa M. Clark and printed by Concordia Publishing House, will soon be available on the table in the narthex. Get yours while they last.