Laetare Propers

 Laetare Sunday  22. March 2020

Introit (Psalm 84,5.6a.7.11; Isaiah 66,10.11) 

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; 

rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 

so that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; 

so that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance. 

Blessed are those whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs

They go from strength to strength; 

each one appears before God in Zion.

For the Lord God is a Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. 

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be forever.  Amen.

Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; 

rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her; 

so that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; 

so that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance. 

Collect of the Day

O Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever.  Amen. 

Isaiah 54,7-10 

⁷„For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. ⁸In overflowing anger for a moment I hid My face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,“ says the Lord, your Redeemer. ⁹„This is like the days of Noah to Me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. ¹⁰For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but My steadfast love will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be removed,“ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

P This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God. 

Gradual (Psalm 122,1; 122,7)

I was glad when they said to me: „Let us go to the house of the Lord!“ Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!

Galatians 4,21-31 

²¹Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. ²³But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. ²⁴Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. ²⁵Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written: 

Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;

    break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!

For the children of the desolate one will be more

    than those of the one who has a husband [Isaiah 54,1]. 

²⁸Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. ²⁹But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. ³⁰But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman [Genesis 21,10]. ³¹So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman. 

P This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God. 

John 6,1-15 

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. ²And a large crowd was following Him, because they saw the signs that He was doing on the sick. ³Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. ⁴Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. ⁵Lifting up His eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was approaching Him, Jesus said to Philip: „Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?“ ⁶He said this to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. ⁷Philip answered Him: „Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.“ ⁸One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him: ⁹„There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?“ ¹⁰Jesus said: „Have the people sit down.“ Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. ¹¹Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²And when they had eaten their fill, He told His disciples: „Gather up the leftover fragments, so that nothing may be lost.“ ¹³So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that He had done, they said: „This is indeed the Prophet who is to enter the world!“ 

¹⁵Perceiving then that they were about to draw near and take Him by force to make Him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by Himself.