Introit:Ps 74:1-3 (antiphon: Ps 69:9)
Gradual: [Heb. 12:2]
Psalm: Ps 4 (antiphon: Ps 4:8)
OT: Jer 26:8-15
Epistle:Phil 3:17„4:1
Proper Verse: Luke 13:35
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35

Jesus Rescues Us from Death and Brings Us into Heaven
The prophet Jeremiah faithfully preached "all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people" (Jer. 26:8). He called the people to repentance, lest the Lord's judgment come upon them. The violence that Jeremiah suffered for this preaching foreshadowed the cross and Passion of Christ Jesus, who suffered the judgment of God for the redemption of all people. For Jesus "comes in the name of the Lord" (Luke 13:35) in order to lay down His life for the sins of the world. Earthly Jerusalem was blind to His gracious visitation, and it put Him to death like the prophets before Him. Yet, His sacrifice upon the cross became the cornerstone of the new Jerusalem, His Church. He visits us today in mercy with His preaching of forgiveness, to gather us to Himself within that holy city, "as a hen gathers her brood under her wings" (Luke 13:34), for "our citizenship is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20).

Introit:Ps 5:4-8 (antiphon: Ps 1:6)
Gradual: [Heb. 12:2]
Psalm: Ps 85 (antiphon: Ps 85:8)
OT: Ezk 33:7-20
Epistle:1 Cor 10:1-13
Proper Verse: 2 Pet 3:9b,c
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Jesus Calls You to Repentance
"Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). By this warning, the Lord would turn us away from wickedness and bring us to life in Himself. For He is patient with us, that we not be cut down in our sin but live and bear fruit in Him. As He lives, the Lord has "no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33:11). So the Scriptures have been "written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Cor. 10:11), that we should not desire evil but trust in Christ. He alone is faithful, the Rock who feeds us with His "spiritual food" and pours out His "spiritual drink" (1 Cor. 10:3_4).

Introit:Ps 51:2 (antiphon: Ps 51:1)
Gradual: [Heb. 12:2]
Psalm: Ps 32 (antiphon: Ps 32:11)
OT: Is 12:1-6
Epistle:2 Cor 5:16-21
Proper Verse: Luke 15:22a, 24
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Jesus Christ Has Reconciled Us to the Father
God the Father has opened His heart to us in love. While we were "still a long way off," He saw us and "felt compassion" (Luke 15:20). Therefore, He gave His only begotten Son for us, making "him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). By the ministry of reconciliation, He runs to us, embraces us in mercy and clothes us with His glory as beloved sons in Christ Jesus. And so we give thanks unto the Lord our God, who has taken away our sins and turned His anger from us (Is. 12:1). Because He has become our salvation, our strength and our song, we "will trust, and will not be afraid" (Is. 12:2).

Introit:Ps 3:3-6 (antiphon: Ps 3:8)
Gradual: [Heb. 12:2]
Psalm: Ps 126 (antiphon: Ps 126:3)
OT: Is 43:16-21
Epistle:Phil 3:(4b-7) 8-14
Proper Verse: Luke 20:17b
Gospel: Luke 20:9-20

God's Beloved Son Has Redeemed Us
Our life and works apart from Christ, no matter how they may glitter to the eyes of the world, are ultimately rubbish and have no righteousness. Rather, in the scandalous cross of Jesus we find our righteousness alone "through faith in Christ" (Phil. 3:9). By such faith, we "know him and the power of his resurrection" (Phil. 3:10). For the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt has done a "new thing" for us in Christ Jesus (Is. 43:19). He has sent His beloved Son into His vineyard to be killed by sinful men and to become "the stone that the builders rejected." Yet, the One rejected by men "has become the cornerstone" of His Church (Luke 20:17). Through the waters of Holy Baptism, He provides us daily refreshment in our earthly pilgrimage, "a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Is. 43:19).

Introit:Ps 24:7-10 (antiphon: Ps 118:26)
Gradual: [Heb. 9:12a, c, 15a; Ps. 111:9a]
Psalm: Ps 118:19-29 (antiphon: Ps 118:26) or Ps 31:9_16 (antiphon: Ps 31:5)
OT: Deut 32:36-39
Epistle:Phil 2:5-11
Proper Verse: Phil 2:8b
Gospel: John 12:12-19 (Palm Sunday Procession) Luke 22:1„23:56 or Luke 23:1-56 or John 12:20-43

The Cross and Passion of Our Lord Are the Hour of His Glory
The King of Israel comes into His royal glory by the path of humble obedience "to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:8). He "goes as it has been determined" (Luke 22:22), according to the Scriptures, willingly submitting to His Father's plan for the salvation of sinners. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (Phil. 2:9). His suffering and death open the way of repentance for the forgiveness of sins because He goes to the cross bearing the sins of the world. In His resurrection, God the Father vindicates His people and has compassion on His servants (Deut. 32:36). He kills to make alive; He wounds in order to heal. In remembrance of Him, we praise God, confessing "that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:11).