Just in case . . .
MONDAY IN HOLY WEEK
The Introit. “Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me; fight against them that fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me! Say unto my soul, I am thy Salvation.”
The Collect. “Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who amid so many adversities do fail through our own infirmities, may be restored through the Passion and intercession of Thine only-begotten Son; who liveth,” etc.
In these hours we see the Great Example before us most vividly, also our adversities in comparison with His. We fail through reliance on our own strength in our own will. This is brought home to us as we pray and think of Him. There is only one cure, only One to help. There is strength, sure and abiding, only in One. In His company we can think of ourselves only as failures. We are strong to endure or able to overcome in and through Him who has loved us and given Himself for us.
The Epistle (Is. 50:5-10). Here is one of Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Messiah’s sufferings. He has drawn a true and vivid picture of this Great Week’s events. He has also given an indication of the Messiah’s obedience, or rather, consecrated determination to bear, and the source of the inspiration that heartens His submission. St. Paul used this passage (Romans 8:33 ff.) –
The Gradual. “Stir up Thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me.”
The Tract. “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name; and deliver us and purge away our sins for Thy name’s sake.”
The Proper Sentence. “Christ hath humbled Himself and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
The Gospel (St. John 12:1-23) or the Passion History. The History of the Passion as an alternate Gospel is a unique Lutheran feature. It developed in Reformation times, particularly after the harmony of the accounts in the four Gospels by John Bugenhagen had gained wide currency in Lutheran lands. The Holy Gospel from St. John narrates various incidents, all historically related to this immediate period. First of all is the anointing at Bethany, “six days before the Passover,” with a revelation of the betrayer’s true character and our Lord’s commendation of Mary’s act, accepting it “for the day of My burial.” In contrast with the relentless contention of adversaries pictured in the Epistle, one likes to think of this home, where a loving welcome always awaited the Lord, where there was true, abiding friendship. This Gospel also brings an account of our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem and notes how the report of many who had witnessed His raising of Lazarus affected the multitude. It also tells of the Greeks who wished to see Jesus and ends with our Lord’s announcement: “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
The Proper Preface. “Who on the tree of the cross didst give salvation unto mankind that, whence death arose, thence life also might rise again; and that he who by a tree once overcame likewise by a tree be overcome, through Christ, our Lord, through whom,” etc.