A Gift For You

Lenten Devotions for 2005

Jesus is Judged by Pilate
 A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
Laden with all the sins of earth,
None else the burden sharing!
Goes patient on, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter lead without complaint,
That spotless life to offer;
Bears shame, and stripes, and wounds and
death,
Anguish and mockery, and saith,
"Willing all this I suffer."1

1
P. Gerhardt, 1648, The Lutheran Hymnary: Including the Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN, 1935.
 M onday, March 7
Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the

King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Why, what

evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So Pilate, wishing to

satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him

over to be crucified. Mark 15:12-15

One more time we are do. We keep people in

asked to decide the bondage just as surely
punishment for the One as every other slave
who brings life. We shout owner does. We bind
back, “Kill God!” We the people to their past when
creatures, tell the creator we refuse to forgive
that God is guilty on all them. We oppress others
accounts. when we do not pay
them a fair wage. We
We do not want God to participate in the slave
free the slaves. Today, we trade when we purchase
pride ourselves on how we goods from
have no slaves in this country. But we manufactures that abuse their workers.
Ignorance is no excuse. God tells us that help making life-changing decisions, we
we are do not help them.
responsible for When others ask for
everyone’s a firm commitment,
welfare. we do not reach out
and hold their hand.
We do not God will hold us
want God to accountable because
raise the dead. we are our brother’s
In our keeper.
inaction, we proclaim that the lifeless are
better left dead. When others fall down, Even though we have damaged others
we do not and creation through our actions and
lift them inactions, God still sent His Son to
up. When make it right.
others need

Dear Lord, there are times I must not go along, to get

along. Help me to make wise decisions in my life. May I
be able to choose the good over the bad. Amen.
Jesus is Scourged and Crowned
with Th o r n s

Lord have mercy.

The Creator of the cosmos
Is beaten by the creature.
Christ have mercy.
The King of Glory
Is given a crown of thorns.
Lord have mercy.
 Thou didst bear the smiting only,
That it might not fall on me;
Stoodest falsely charged and lonely,
That I might be safe and free;
Comfortless Thy soul did languish
To bring comfort in our anguish;
Praise and glory ever be,
Blessed Jesus, unto Thee.2

2
Christopher Homburg, 1659, The Hymnal and Order of Service: Authorized by The
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, Augustana Book Concern, Rock Island, IL, 1925.
 Tuesday, March 8
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns

and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to

him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face. John 19:1-3.

In order to appease the

crowd, Pilate had the
Who was the guilty?
King of peace whipped.
Who brought this upon
The soldiers not only
obeyed that order but Thee?
they also gave the
King of creation a Alas, my treason,
crown that pierced His
head. And if that was Jesus hath undone Thee!
not enough, the
soldiers hit the face
'Twas I, Lord Jesus,
that had looked at God
and had lived.
It was I denied Thee:
I crucified Thee. –
It seems that Pilate
was more concerned J. Heermann, 1630, The Lutheran Hymnary:
Including the Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church
about what others thought of him instead
of what God thought. This problem
seems to raise its ugly head wherever
humans are found. We work very hard
to make sure that we do not stand out in
the crowd. We will do whatever it takes so
that we can keep other people happy.
When told to take action, we often forget
to question the command.
The soldiers did not ask Pilate why they
were torturing the One who loves all of
creation. We also do not think before we
act. We strike out at those who love us.
We will protect ourselves at all costs.
In the middle of this horrible scene, we
find God. Instead of calling out for an
army of angels to destroy us, God takes
our abuse. God stays silent.

Dear Lord of all, what will I do when people mock you.

Will I look the other way or will I remain true to my
Lord and Master. Let me always honor my Lord all the
days of my life. Amen.
 Wednesday, March 9
When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.”

John 19:6.
Jesus, crowned with thorns for me,
We think
that we have Scourged for my transgression!
God on the
ropes. After Witnessing, through agony,
beating God
to an inch That Thy good confession;
of His life,
we now are Jesus, clad in purple raiment,
ready for
the last
For my evil making payment:
blow. We
want God
Let not all Thy woe and pain,
strung up
Let not Calvary, be in vain! –
and we
want Him Theoctistos of the Studium, circa 890, The Lutheran
to die. So, Hymnary: Including the Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church
we shout out, “Knock out the Creator!”
A lone voice of reason asks us to
reconsider our decision.
It is hard to believe that it has come to
this. At one time, we wanted to be with
God and we enjoyed talking to God
about everything. Now, we cannot stand
His face and we want to forget that we
ever liked this Guy. We do not even
want to consider what will happen to the
rest of the universe when God is put on
the mat for the last time. Nor will we
consider God's innocence. We cannot
believe that someone who created us
actually loves us.
Jesus is bruised. God is hurting. God
does not call for the universe to stop
existing. He loves us and the cosmos too
much for that kind of action.

Dear Lord, have I crucified my Lord by my life and

actions? Have I made light of His majesty? Help me to
place Christ in the place of honor in my life. Amen.
Jesus Bears the Cross

Lord have mercy on me.

I have given God the cross
And God has accepted it.
Christ have mercy on me.
I have placed you on the tree,
Which you created for me.
Lord have mercy on me.
 Do we pass that cross unheeding,
Breathing no repentant vow?
Though we see Thee wounded, bleeding,
See They thorn-encircled brow?
Yet They sinless death has brought us
Life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what Thy grace has taught us
Calms the sinner's stormy breast.3

3
Girolamo Savonarola, 1454-1498, The Hymnal and Order of Service: Authorized by The
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, Augustana Book Concern, Rock Island, IL, 1925.
 Thursday, March 10
They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Shall I

crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but the emperor.”

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. John 19:15-16a.

We shout at the top of our lungs. Take killed King. We answer with one voice,

O that near the Cross abiding,

We may to the Saviour cleave;
Naught with Him our hearts dividing,
All for Him content to leave. –
James Allen, 1757, Walter Shirley, 1770, Common Service Book of the Lutheran
Church: Authorized by the United Lutheran Church in America

God away! Get Him out of our sight!
Kill God so that we do not have to deal
with Him and His commands anymore.
Wisdom asks us if we really want our
“Our god is no one but ourselves!”
With God out of the way, we will run the
universe. We will do what we want and
have no one to answer to but ourselves.
We have only one person that we really
trust and that person is myself. The irony in this story is that we cannot
Everyone wants to be their own god. give eternal life to anyone, even when we
are alive. The mystery found in the
The One who set the stars in their course, story is that God gives us life
will let us kill Him. He will die at our everlasting after God is murdered.
hands and when He dies on the cross,
God dies. In this death and through this
death, a dead God, who raises God's self
from Christ's grave, will give to the
killers a gift of everlasting life.

Dear Lord, where lies my loyalty? Do I confess and

honor my King? And what is “king” in my life? May I
never “put away” my King. Keep me serving my
heavenly King as a loyal subject of His. Amen.
 Fr i d a y, March 11
So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The

Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. John 19:16b-17.

All alone,
Jesus carries
His trial o'er, and beneath His own
our cross faintly bending,
instrument of
His death. He Jesus the fatal hill of death is
walks to the
place where He
wearily ascending.
will breath
His last. We
And now, His hand and feet
have forced pierced through, upon the cross
God to make
a decision. they raise Him,
Either Jesus
can save
Where even now, in distant view,
Himself or He the eye of faith surveys Him. –
can save
creation. C. Coffin, 1736, The Lutheran Hymnary: Including the
Symbols of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
 In our inaction, we bring pain and
Every day we too make God choose suffering to those who need God's love.
between life and death. We do not live as
He commanded us. We do not love those Fortunately for us, God chooses our life
around us. We do not help those in need. over His own. Jesus is willing to do
anything, including death by torture, so
As we force God from our life, we bring that we might live. This is God's passion
death into the world because God created for the universe.
everything and God knows the limits of
creation. We want to ignore those limits
since we think the limits hold us back
instead of keeping chaos away from us.

Dear Heavenly Father, they took Jesus. Have I

“taken” Him? What have I done with and for my Lord?
Have I held Him high or maybe shoved Him away? I
pray for more love and honor to my Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus is Helped by Simon the
Cyrenian to Carry the Cross

Lord have mercy.

In the midst of your suffering,
God asked man for help.
Christ have mercy.
O Lord, grant me the strength
That when you call me,
I will be ready for you.
Lord have mercy.
 The cross, O Jesus, Thou didst bear,
And yield Thyself an offering
To save a sinful world e'er
With scorn beholds The suff'ring.
O wondrous love from heav'n above,
To bleed for Thine accusers!4

4
Erik Gustaf Geijer, 1812, The Hymnal and Order of Service: Authorized by The Evangelical
Lutheran Augustana Synod, Augustana Book Concern, Rock Island, IL, 1925.
 Saturday, March 12
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it

was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Mark 15:21.

The pain that we have inflected on God's us to come and work alongside God. This
Son is too
much for In thy dear Cross, a grace is found,
Him to bear
alone. The
It flows from every streaming
soldiers see wound,
this and
they Whose power our inbred sin
command
that we come controls,
and help
God.
Breaks the firm bond, and frees
our souls. –
Even in His
death St. Gregory, 540-604, Service Book and Hymnal: Authorized
by the Lutheran Churches cooperating in The Commission
march,
on the Liturgy and Hymnal
Jesus asks
willingness to share the work is a
hallmark of the Christ's message. God
starts the work and then asks us to come
and help. We see this pattern repeated
over and over again in God's Word.
When we do not carry the cross with
Christ, the work of salvation will not be
completed. In our day, we will not be
literally asked to pick up Christ's cross
and walk along with Him to Golgotha.
Instead, God asks us to help in our
specific time and situation. We are to
live as Jesus taught us. We are to tell
others of the One who risked everything
so that we could live. We are to work with
God in creation just like Simon was
ordered to help shoulder Christ's load.
Simon's walk to Golgotha did not save
Simon from eternal death nor do our
works save us either. Instead, the grace
that saves us comes freely from God who
died on the tree.

Dear Lord, I want to serve when I am asked. I want to

be serving others. Give me the eyes to see others needs
and to help them. Give me the desire to help those in
deed, to carry and share others burdens. This is what you
did on the cross. May I be a burden carrier. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
 Thee may our tongues forever bless;
The may we love alone:
And ever in our lives express
The image of Thine own.5
Ann Wofford – Prayers

Elaine Lenz – Crosses

The Winstons – Photographs

Jody Winston – Writing

5
Bernard of Clearvaux, d. 1153, The Lutheran Hymnary: Including the Symbols of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN, 1935.