Church Year

1st Reading: Zechariah 9:9-12
Epistle: Romans 7:14-25a
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

Psalm 145:1-14

Color: Green

Hymn of the Day: 699 I heard the voice of Jesus say

(Prop. 9)

Isaiah

Isaiah son of Amoz is considered to be the greatest of the writing prophets and is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament prophet. His name means "Yahweh [the Lord] saves." Isaiah prophesied to the people of Jerusalem and Judah from about 740 B.C. to 700 B.C. and was a contemporary of the prophets Amos, Hosea, and Micah. Isaiah was a fierce preacher of God's Law, condemning the sin of idolatry. He was also a comforting proclaimer of the Gospel, repeatedly emphasizing God's grace and forgiveness. For this he is sometimes called the "Evangelist of the Old Testament." No prophet more clearly prophesied about the coming Messiah and his saving kingdom. He foretold the Messiah's miraculous birth (Is 7:14; 9:6), his endless reign (Is 2:1-5; 11:1-16), and his public ministry (Is 61:1-3), but most notably his "Suffering Servant" role and atoning death (52:13 - 53:12). The apostle John's description of Isaiah, that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory and spoke of him (John 12:41), is an apt summary of Isaiah's prophetic ministry.

Source: www.LCMS.org Commemorations Biographies

1st Reading: Isaiah 55:10-13
Epistle: Romans 8:12-17
Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Psalm 65:(1-8) 9-13

Color: Green

Hymn of the Day: 577 Almighty God, Your Word is cast

(Prop. 10)

Ruth

Ruth of Moab, the subject of the biblical book that bears her name, is an inspiring example of God's grace. Although she was a Gentile, God made her the great grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:17), and an ancestress of Jesus himself (Mt 1:5). A famine in Israel led Elimelech and Naomi of Bethlehem to emigrate to the neighboring nation of Moab with their two sons. The sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, but after about ten years, Elimelech and his sons died (Ruth 1:1-5). Naomi then decided to return to Bethlehem and urged her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Orpah listened to Naomi's urging but Ruth refused, replying with the stirring words: "Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16). After Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, Boaz, a close relative of Elimelech, agreed to be Ruth's "redeemer" (Ruth 3:7-13; 4:9-12). He took her as his wife, and Ruth gave birth to Obed, the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:13-17), thus preserving the Messianic seed. Ruth's kindness and selfless loyalty toward Naomi, and her faith in Naomi's God, have long endeared her to the faithful and redounded to God's praise for his merciful choice of one so unexpected.

Source: www.LCMS.org Commemorations Biographies

1st Reading: Isaiah 44:6-8
Epistle: Romans 8:18-27
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Psalm 119:57-64

Color: Green

Hymn of the Day: 772 In holy conversation

(Prop. 11)

Elijah

The prophet Elijah, whose name means, "My God is Yahweh [the Lord]," prophesied in the northern kingdom of Israel, mostly during the reign of Ahab (874-853 B.C.). Ahab, under the influence of his pagan wife Jezebel, had encouraged the worship of Baal throughout his kingdom, even as Jezebel sought to get rid of the worship of Yahweh. Elijah was called by God to denounce this idolatry and to call the people of Israel back to the worship Yahweh as the only true God (as he did in 1 Kgs 18:20-40). Elijah was a rugged and imposing figure, living in the wilderness and dressing in a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt (2 Kgs 1:8). He was a prophet mighty in word and deed. Many miracles were done through Elijah, including the raising of the dead (1 Kgs 17:17-24), and the effecting of a long drought in Israel (1 Kgs 17:1). At the end of his ministry, he was taken up into heaven as Elisha, his successor, looked on (2 Kgs 2:11). Later on the prophet Malachi proclaimed that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Mal 4:5-6), a prophecy that was fulfilled in the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist (Mt 11:14).

Source: www.LCMS.org Commemorations Biographies

Ezekiel

Ezekiel, son of Buzi, was a priest, called by God to be a prophet to the exiles during the Babylonian captivity (Ez. 1:3). In 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army brought the king of Judah and thousands of the best citizens of Jerusalem-including Ezekiel-to Babylon (2 Kgs 24:8-16). Ezekiel's priestly background profoundly stamped his prophecy, as the holiness of God and the Temple figure prominently in his messages (for example, Ezekiel 9-10 and 40-48). From 593 B.C. to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 586 B.C., Ezekiel prophesied the inevitability of divine judgment on Jerusalem, on the exiles in Babylon, and on seven nations that surrounded Israel (Ezekiel 1-32). Jerusalem would fall, and the exiles would not quickly return, as a just consequence of their sin. Once word reached Ezekiel that Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, his message became one of comfort and hope. Through him God promised that his people would experience future restoration, renewal and revival in the coming Messianic kingdom (Ezekiel 33-48). Much of the strange symbolism of Ezekiel's prophecies was later employed in the Revelation to St. John.

Source: www.LCMS.org Commemorations Biographies

1st Reading: Proverbs 31:10-31
Epistle: Acts 13:26-31
Gospel: John 20:1-2, 10-18

Color: White

Hymn of the Day: 465 Now all the vault of heav'n resounds

St. Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene is remembered as one of Jesus' most celebrated followers, famous, according to Mark 16:9-10 and John 20:14-17, for being the first person to see the resurrected Christ.

Earlier in her life, Jesus had cleansed her of seven demons (Luke 8:2 and Mark 16:9). She was one of the women who accompanied and aided Jesus in Galilee (Luke 8:1-2), and all four Gospels attest that she witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and burial; John 19:25-26 further notes that she stood by the cross, near the Virgin Mary and the unidentified Apostle whom Jesus loved.

Having seen where Jesus was buried (Mark 15:47), she went with two other women on Easter morning to the tomb to anoint the corpse. Finding the tomb empty, Mary ran to the disciples. She returned with St. Peter, who, astonished, left her. Christ then appeared to Mary and instructed her to tell the Apostles that he was ascending to the Father (John 20:17).

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org "Mary Magdalene"
http://www.britannica.com "Saint Mary Magdalene"

1st Reading: Acts 11:27-12:5
Epistle: Romans 8:28-39
Gospel: Mark 10:35-45

Color: Red

Hymn of the Day: 420 Christ, the life of all the living

St. James the Elder, Apostle

James was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle. He is also called James the Greater to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less. James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus.

The Synoptic Gospels say that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him (Matthew 4:21-22, Mark 1:19-20). With Saints Peter and Andrew, James and John were the first four disciples whom Jesus called (Mark 1:16-19). James and John were called "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).

James witnessed the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:37, Luke 8:51), the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33, Matthew 26:37). James and John asked Jesus to let them sit, one at his right and one at his left, in his future glory (Mark 10:35-40), a favor that Jesus said was not his to grant.

Agrippa I had James executed by sword, (Acts 12:1-2) making him the first of the Apostles to be martyred; and the only Apostle's martyrdom to be recorded in the New Testament.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org "James, son of Zebedee"
http://www.britannica.com "Saint James."

1st Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-9
Epistle: Romans 8:28-39
Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52

Psalm 125

Color: Green

Hymn of the Day: 713 From God can nothing move me

(Prop. 12)