Ash Wednesday 3/2/22
Ash Wednesday Service3.2.2022 PDF
ASH WEDNESDAY
The First Day of Lent
✠ ✠ ✠
March 2, 2022
PRELUDE In Adam We Have All Been One Setting: Dennis W, Zimmer
ENTRANCE HYMN #569 In Adam We Have All Been One
1 In Adam we have all been one,
One huge rebellious man;
We all have fled that evening voice
That sought us as we ran.
2 We fled Thee, and in losing Thee
We lost our brother too;
Each singly sought and claimed his own;
Each man his brother slew.
3 But Thy strong love, it sought us still
And sent Thine only Son
That we might hear His Shepherd’s voice
And, hearing Him, be one.
4 O Thou who, when we loved Thee not,
Didst love and save us all,
Thou great Good Shepherd of mankind,
O hear us when we call.
5 Send us Thy Spirit, teach us truth;
Thou Son, O set us free
From fancied wisdom, self-sought ways,
To make us one in Thee.
6 Then shall our song united rise
To Thine eternal throne,
Where with the Father evermore
And Spirit Thou art one.
ADDRESS TO WORSHIPERS
Dear brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ, on this day the Church begins a holy season of prayerful and penitential reflection. Our attention is especially directed to the holy sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From ancient times the season of Lent has been kept as a time of special devotion, self-denial, and humble repentance born of a faithful heart that dwells confidently on His Word and draws from it life and hope. Let us pray that our dear Father in heaven, for the sake of His beloved Son and in the power of His Holy Spirit, might richly bless this Lententide for us so that we may come to Easter with glad hearts and keep the feast in sincerity and truth.
LITANY (Kneel)
O Lord,
have mercy.
O Christ,
have mercy.
O Lord,
have mercy.
O Christ,
hear us.
God the Father, in heaven,
have mercy.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
have mercy.
God the Holy Spirit,
have mercy.
Be gracious to us.
Spare us, good Lord.
Be gracious to us.
Help us, good Lord.
By the mystery of Your holy incarnation;
by Your holy nativity;
by Your baptism, fasting, and temptation;
by Your agony and bloody sweat;
by Your cross and Passion;
by Your precious death and burial;
by Your glorious resurrection and ascension;
and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
Help us, good Lord.
In all time of our tribulation;
in all time of our prosperity;
in the hour of death;
and in the day of judgment:
Help us, good Lord.
We poor sinners implore You
to hear us, O Lord.
To prosper the preaching of Your Word;
to bless our prayer and meditation;
to strengthen and preserve us in the true faith;
to give heart to our sorrow and strength to our repentance:
We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
To draw all to Yourself;
to bless those who are instructed in the faith;
to watch over and console the poor, the sick, the distressed,
the lonely, the forsaken, the abandoned, and all who stand in
need of our prayers; to give abundant blessing to all works of mercy;
and to have mercy on us all:
We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
To turn our hearts to You;
to turn the hearts of our enemies, persecutors, and
slanderers; and graciously to hear our prayers:
We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
we implore You to hear us.
Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
have mercy.
Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
have mercy.
Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
grant us Your peace.
O Christ,
hear us.
O Lord,
have mercy.
O Christ,
have mercy.
O Lord,
have mercy. Amen.
IMPOSITION OF ASHES (Be seated)
The Pastors station themselves at the foot of the chancel steps at the head of the center aisle. Those who wish to receive ashes should form two lines in the center aisle, returning by way of the side aisles. The Pastor will mark each penitent on the forehead with a cross of ashes.
While others receive the ashes you may wish to read Psalm 90
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (Stand)
Accomplish in us, O God, the work of Your salvation,
that we may show forth Your glory in the world.
By the cross and Passion of Your Son, our Lord,
bring us with all Your saints to the joy of His resurrection.
O God, You desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We implore You to have compassion on the frailty of our mortal nature, for we acknowledge that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Mercifully pardon our sins that we may obtain the promises You have laid up for those who are repentant; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor sinful being.
HOLY ABSOLUTION
Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
HYMN OF CONFESSION #440 Sts, 1-3, 5 Jesus, I will Ponder Now
1 Jesus, I will ponder now
On Your holy passion;
With Your Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of Your suff’ring, pain, and death
That I may not perish.
2 Make me see Your great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Your crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails did wound You,
How for them You died, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned You.
3 Yet, O Lord, not thus alone
Make me see Your passion,
But its cause to me make known
And its termination.
Ah! I also and my sin
Wrought Your deep affliction;
This indeed the cause has been
Of Your crucifixion.
5 If my sins give me alarm
And my conscience grieve me,
Let Your cross my fear disarm;
Peace of conscience give me.
Help me see forgiveness won
By Your holy passion.
If for me He slays His Son,
God must have compassion!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God,
You hate nothing you have made and you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest hearts, so that truly repenting of our sins, we may obtain from you, the God of mercy, full pardon and forgiveness; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
SERVICE OF THE WORD
FIRST READING (Be seated) Joel 2:12–19
“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING Genesis 30:22-24
Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the Lord add to me another son!”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL VERSE (Stand) #198 O Come, Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus
O come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
GOSPEL READING Matthew 6:1–6, 16-21
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 6th chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON (Be seated)
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
Ten weeks ago we celebrated the birth of a baby – the Savior who is Christ the Lord. Angels sang about his birth. Shepherds scampered to his manger. Wise men sought and found him. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus came to save his people from their sins. And we all sang, “Joy to the World!”
That’s how it’s supposed to be whenever a baby is born. The birth of a child is a happy, joy-filled occasion – a cause for celebration.
But tonight we begin a Lenten journey with Joseph. And Joseph’s journey begins at a place where there was no joy. It begins with his mother Rachel enduring years of pain.
You remember Rachel, don’t you? It was love at first sight when Jacob first spied the beautiful young shepherdess watering her father’s flock. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel only to be deceived by her father, Laban, into marrying her sister Leah first. Jacob eventually got to marry Rachel too, but at the cost of another seven years of labor.
First came love, then, finally, came marriage. But there were no babies – at least not for Rachel. Her sister Leah had lots of them – six sons and a daughter. And both Rachel’s and Leah’s maidservants gave sons to Jacob too – two more each. That means there were eleven children joyously born in the household… but none to Rachel.
Needless to say, this pained Rachel greatly. Each birth was to her a source of sorrow, anger and jealousy. The more births that came, the more pain she felt.
At one point Rachel cried out to her husband: “give me children or I shall die!” That’s when she told him to sleep with her maidservant. When the maidservant produced the two children, Rachel revealed how much of a struggle this all was for her. One of the children she named Naphtali, saying: “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and prevailed.” The other child she named “Dan,” saying: “God has judged me, but has also heard my voice and given me a son.” And here we see that Rachel’s pain had a spiritual dimension to it. For like many others in her situation, Rachel wondered if her barrenness could be a sign of God’s displeasure and judgment.
This is where our lives intersect with Rachel’s. For we struggle with faith too – sometimes to the point of wondering whether God has abandoned us. We all know how painful it can be when
our prayers go unanswered. We all know how endless the wait can seem when the hoped-for healing, or the hoped-for relationship, or the hoped-for opportunity doesn’t come. We wonder if God is listening. And wonder what we might have done to offend him.
What’s more, we all know the tragic progression from sadness to bitterness, bitterness to anger, and anger to despair. And then, like Rachel, we sometimes act out of that desperation by taking matters into our own hands. We set aside God’s will, give up on waiting, and turn to sinful solutions in order to relieve our craving.
In the end, these solutions never satisfy us. We know that they’re only dysfunctional debacles fueled by faithless desperation. And they only leave us with feelings of emptiness and guilt.
For Rachel, two words from tonight’s text changed everything: “God remembered.” When all hope had dried up and faith was just dimly flickering, God remembered Rachel (v. 22). He remembered her prayer, and then opened her womb. She conceived and bore a son. And not just any son, but one that would ultimately deliver God’s people and point all the way to Jesus.
God remembered Rachel. And in the lexicon of the Bible, remembering is more than mere recollection. When God remembers, he acts. He intervenes.
God hadn’t forgotten about Rachel. He was simply acting according to the timing he knows to be best – the timing that was best for both her and for all.
This is the timing that is all about God’s wisdom.
But even more, it’s a timing that is all about grace.
Rachel’s story shows that God remembers his people graciously, for in it we see that God acts and works not just for the well-behaved who wait patiently, but even for shameful strivers. God remembered Rachel when she was consumed by her feelings of forgottenness and desperation. God remembered her despite her sin.
And why does God remember his people in this way? Because, as we heard the prophet Joel say earlier, “he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”
God remembered Rachel. And she gave birth to a son – joyfully naming the boy Joseph. That son signaled the end of Rachel’s shame and desperation, for the child would be a constant reminder of God’s remembrance and her deliverance.
The name Joseph means “may he add.” It also sounds like the word for “taken away.” Choosing that name was both a confession of faith and a prayer of hope. “God has taken away my reproach,” said Rachel, for she had finally given birth. Then, to express her hope, she added: “May the Lord add to me another son!”
Rachel would indeed have another son. Sometime later she would give birth to Benjamin. Sadly, during this birth Rachel died. Her husband built a pillar over her place of burial to remember her, which the writer of Genesis says is “there to this day.”
Rather than seeing Rachel’s story as one of tragedy, however, the scriptures lead us instead to see how her life ended in a place of hopefulness and joy. Rachel died knowing the grace of God in her life.
And certainly this focus of the scriptures is the case because of “another son” upon which the scriptures are centered – the one upon whom our own hope is found. God remembered Rachel with Joseph, yes. But God has remembered us all with own Son, Jesus Christ.
When God remembers, he takes action. And God has acted definitively for you and for all of us in the person of his Son.
In that Son is the end of your shame and desperation. In that Son is your deliverance from sin and death. In that Son God remembers the forgotten.
That Son, Jesus, also died a seemingly tragic death. He was forsaken by his people and crucified as if he were a criminal.
But he died so that God would never forsake you or me. In this death, God has remembered you. He has acted on your behalf, for your eternal good.
The forty days of Lent are a time for us to remember this. As such, we should also remember our sins and confess them – for they are what drove God’s Son to the cross. We must remember the ways we have wandered from God’s will, rejected his commandments and refused to wait on him in faith.
At the same time we will remember the people and places of our Lord’s Passion – like Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, and Pilate’s pandering. And this year we will also remember Rachel’s son Joseph – how his brothers betrayed him, how his faith was challenged, and all the ways he foreshadows God’s own Son. There are a number of them.
Still, the heart of this holy season is not our remembering but God’s. God remembered Rachel. God remembered Joseph. And in his beloved Son, God remembers you.
In Jesus, God acts on your behalf. He remembers you in the preaching of his promises, in the cleansing cadence of Holy Absolution, in the life-giving splash of Holy Baptism, and in the bread and wine which are his body and blood. He remembers you in the power of his Holy Spirit. He remembers you through the power of his Passion – his great love for us that never ends.
Yes, God remembers us. And because of this, we ought to then heed his invitations. The invitation which comes to us on this day is the one spoken through the prophet Joel: “Yet even now, return to me with all your heart.”
Return to the Lord. Return to him in faith because he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Return to him also in repentance, knowing that he does not desire the death of a sinner but that the sinner would turn to him and live.
Return to him “yet even now” – even though you have too often followed Rachel’s lead and turned your life into a dysfunctional debacle, and even when you have burned your bridges and hardened your heart and hurt the people God has given you to love.
“Yet even now.” It’s not too late. God wants you back. It is the time of his favor and the day of his salvation. He will renew your hope and take away your shame.
God remembered Rachel. And God remembers you.
May he bless our Lenten journey together. Amen.
HYMN #610 (Stand) Lord Jesus, Think on Me
1 Lord Jesus, think on me
And purge away my sin;
From worldly passions set me free
And make me pure within.
2 Lord Jesus, think on me,
By anxious thoughts oppressed;
Let me Your loving servant be
And taste Your promised rest.
3 Lord Jesus, think on me
Amid the battle’s strife;
In all my pain and misery,
O be my health and life!
4 Lord Jesus, think on me
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point out Your chosen way.
5 Lord Jesus, think on me
That, when this life is past,
I may the eternal brightness see
And share Your joy at last.
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
PRAYERS (Kneel or Sit)
O Almighty God, You know our transgressions – those of mind, body and heart. Forgive us for the sake of your Son Jesus and cleanse, restore and renew us through Your Holy Word and Sacrament, that we may know the peace you intend for us and live according to your ways. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Blessed Lord, You have called Your people to be reconciled to You in Christ. Grant us steadfast, pure, and courageous hearts, that our life together as your church would reflect your mercy and grace – both to one another and to all. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You instruct Your people in the way of righteousness. Bless our hearing, learning and meditation in these Lenten days, that we would grow in our ability to serve You and our fellow man – doing so in selfless love and finding our reward only in You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, look graciously on our nation and its leaders, and drive away from us all disease and fear. Further the cause of peace and prosperity throughout the world, especially granting care and protection to the people of Ukraine and ending the attacks upon it. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, behold in mercy all who are sick and all who suffer. Be with all expectant mothers, all whose work is dangerous, those who are unemployed, those near death and those who mourn. Comfort us who are dust and must return to dust with the promise that a broken and contrite heart You will not despise. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We thank You, heavenly Father, that You have sent Your only begotten Son into our flesh as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. May our receiving of his body and blood in Holy Communion be to us a strengthening of our faith and the nourishment we need to live in the joy of your forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Graciously receive our prayers, deliver and preserve us, for to You alone we give all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
THE PREFACE (Stand)
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them up to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
LAMB OF GOD
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.
O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us Thy peace. Amen.
COMMUNION (Be seated)
COMMUNION HYMN Create in Me Setting: Richard W, Gieske
POST COMMUNION PRAYER (Stand)
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN #437 Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed
1 Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
And did my sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
2 Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!
3 Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his glories in
When God, the mighty maker, died
For His own creatures’ sin.
4 Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.
5 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away:
’Tis all that I can do.
POSTLUDE Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed Setting: Robert Barkley Farlee
THOSE SERVING IN OUR MIDST:
Greeter: Bob Juenger
Comm. Assist.: Jill Hecht
Reader: Dan Buuck
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2022 Concordia Publishing House.
In Adam We Have All Been One Text: Martin H. Franzmann, 1907–76 Tune: Southern Harmony, 1835, New Haven Text: © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
Jesus, I Will Ponder Now Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626–81; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt. Tune: Melchior Vulpius, c. 1570–1615 Text & Tune: Public domain
O Come, Let Us Fix Our Eyes on Jesus Text: Hebrews 12:2, alt. Tune: Mark L. Bender, b. 1951Text: © 2001 Crossway Bibles. Used by permission: OAR Hymn License no. 110005326Tune: © 2009 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: OAR Hymn License no. 110005326
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, alt. Tune: Hugh Wilson, 1764–1824 Text &Tune: Public domain
ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
7426 IDYLWOOD ROAD
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22043
A member congregation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
CHURCH STAFF
The Rev. Mark Shaltanis, Pastor
The Rev. Xinhong “Chris” Yang, Associate and Chinese Pastor
Kantor Aaron Jansen, Dir. of Parish Music Jill Cha, Preschool Director
Tawni Harrell, Director of Youth John Bean, Business Manager
Linda Fekete, Parish Secretary Richard Irwin, Custodian
CONTACT US
Web site: www.stpaulsfallschurch .org
Office e-mail and phone: stpaulsoff@aol.com; 703-573-0295
Business Manager e-mail: stpaulstaff@yahoo.com
Pastor’s e-mail: prmarkspfc@aol.com
Safety Ministry: stpaulsafety@gmail.com
