Opening Prayer
God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us. Amen. (Psa 67:1)
Text: Matthew 21:1-9
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'” So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. And a very great multitude spread their garments on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
Devotion
Jesus Christ is the Church’s King. He rules it with meekness and justice, and He defends it with divine omnipotence. Jesus Christ, God’s only-begotten Son, who took our sins upon Himself, died for us on the cross and bought us with His blood – He is our King. How joyous and how comforting! Doesn’t every Christian say: Lord Jesus, rule over us! You and no one else shall own my heart! Defend us, You alone are Sun and Shield (Psa 84:11), and only You are what we want to have. – Then when we hear today: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! … Your King, the Lord Jesus, is coming to you!” This is indeed the most glorious thing that can be said to us on this first day of the Church Year, the best answer to the prayer of the Christian heart.
He is the Church’s King. No enemies, however strong they might be, are able to prevail against the Church. The Church shall conquer and be saved, however dangerous it may seem. He watches over His dearly-bought Bride with eternal faithfulness, and He is able in His almighty power to protect it against the strongest assaults of the host of hell. Without doubt the Church now withstands great tribulations, all kinds of assaults of the deceiver from false spirits and bitter persecution by the world. Let all who belong to the Lord’s army put on the true armor of the Spirit! But let no one give up. Christ rules in the midst of His enemies (Psa 110:2), and His Church conquers, even when the world rejoices over its destruction.
He is the Lord of the Church by ruling in the hearts of His people; only those whose hearts He rules belong to His people. But then He is really the King of your heart, poor sinner, who believe in Him and have your hope in Him alone. Truly He is the King of your heart. You are His and He is yours. Don’t let the devil make you believe anything else. Believe on Jesus’ royal name. Believe in His royal power. Commend yourself completely to Him. You can do it by the grace that He Himself gives you. He shall direct your mind and support your behavior, protect you and lead you on the path of righteousness. Serve Him willingly, obey Him always, praise His name, and spread His kingdom. You are blessed and shall be a blessing. Everything in Him, by Him, and for Him!
In this Church Year you shall again experience with all the saints that He is the same faithful and mighty Savior as He always was. He shall keep you in grace, strengthen your faith, increase your love, purify your soul in tribulations, and give you victory over the flesh, the world, and the devil. Beware of relying on your own strength! Beware of doubting His power! You are baptized into Christ, you hear His voice, eat His Body and Blood, live and breathe in His saving grace and love. He knows you and has you in His sight and in His hand day and night. He is gentle and bears with our weakness. He is just and destroys our sins.
Closing Prayer
Praise to You, Lord Jesus, for You made us Your people! Give us grace to believe in You with our whole heart, and give us grace to serve You in all that we do, so that with all our power we spread Your kingdom on earth. Let this year be blessed for us, let it be blessed for all Your people. This we pray from our inmost heart, for You hear it and fulfill Your promises. Amen.
(Here the head of the house prays a short morning or evening prayer in his own words and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. Do this every day. If the hymn stanzas are not sung, they can be read before the prayers.)
Hymn
Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Savior of the world is here.
Life and salvation He doth bring;
Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing:
We praise Thee, Father, now,
Creator, wise art Thou!
A Helper just He comes to thee,
His chariot is humility,
His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress.
The end of all our woe He brings;
Wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise Thee, Savior, now,
Mighty in deed art Thou!
Weissel: Lift up your heads L 97:1-2. ELH 92:1-2. tr. C. Winkworth, alt.;
tune: Macht hoch die Tür