The Servant King
Lenten Meditation
Listen to a Lenten devotion from Metropolitan Yohan (1950-2024) of blessed memory.
Scripture Readings
Micah 4:1–5
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God Forever and ever.
Psalm 118:1–2
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Let Israel now say, “His mercy endures forever.”
Psalm 118:19–29
Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, Through which the righteous shall enter.
I will praise You, For You have answered me, And have become my salvation.
The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Romans 8:18–25
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
St. John 12:12–19
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:
“Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!”
Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness. For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign. The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
Prayers
Opening Prayer
Almighty, ever–living God, You have given us Jesus Christ as our Saviour, a model of humility. He fulfilled Your will by becoming a man and giving His life on the Cross. Fill our hearts with the joy of Hosanna of the triumphal entry of Your only Son and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ showing the example of humility by riding a donkey. Help us to bear witness to You by following His example of suffering, and make us worthy of sharing the glory of His resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. As it was in the beginning, is now and always forever will be, world without end. Amen.
Great Thanksgiving Prayer
Eternal God, the Creator of the whole universe, in Your Great love for mankind, You sent Your begotten Son on to this earth. Denying all glory, He became man – fulfilled the Father’s will and became an example for us. Thank you for giving us the precious privilege of participating in the Holy Body and Holy Blood through His eternal sacrifice on the cross and reconciling us to You by the Holy Spirit and through Your begotten Son Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of Lords, King of kings, the Alpha and the Omega. On this Palm Sunday and during the Lent and all the days of our life with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we proclaim: They shout and say.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
heaven and earth are full of His glory,
hosanna in the highest;
blessed is He who has come,
and is to come
in the name of the Lord,
hosanna in the highest.
Prayer Focus
For the month of April GFA World’s prayer focus is for Women's Ministry.
Women in Africa and Asia face many hardships—ranging from illiteracy and discrimination to abuse and exploitation. But that’s not the end of their story. As your partnership equips GFA missionaries and Sisters of the Cross to display God’s love and compassion to these women, they’re finding hope in Christ and becoming agents of transformation in their communities. Join us this month as we pray for God to bring hope, healing and help to women in Africa and Asia, wich will create a ripple effect in their families and communities.
Prayer for Women's Ministry
Father we pray that each woman in the local church will be built up in her faith and become a catalyst for kingdom growth in her community. Amen.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, You humbled Yourself in taking the form of a servant, and in obedience You died on the Cross for our salvation. Give us the mind to follow You and to proclaim You as Lord and King, to the glory of God the Father. Faithful God, may we, Your people, always glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ who is our salvation, who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings and the One that reigns forever. Amen.
For a brief explanation on how to use this devotional please visit www.gfa.org/devotional/
Source for Scripture Passages: Scripture texts are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Source for Prayers: Believers Eastern Church Liturgy Copyright © 2018 Believers Eastern Church. Used by permission.
Source for Art: Limbourg, Jean de, approximately 1385-approximately 1416. Entry into Jerusalem, Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, from Art in the Christian Tradition a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55430 [retrieved March 20, 2018]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Folio_173v_-_The_Entry_into_Jerusalem.jpg.
