Ash Wednesday
March 2, 2022, 7:00 P.M.
ASH WEDNESDAY
The Church embraces the sign of ashes to begin the
penitential season of Lent. In Lent we recall not only our physical mortality,
but our thrall to ‘death of the spirit:’ everything that separates us from God
and our neighbor. We fast from the good things of the earth to remind us of our
dependence upon God for all things and how often we have declared independence
from him in reaching out for what is not ours. We intensify our prayer life; we
give to those in need, in remembrance that the good we do to our neighbor we do
to Christ himself. In all of these
things we seek to live the life of turning toward God that is true repentance.
The readings for the Ash Wednesday service remind
us of the traditional practices of Lent. The passage from Joel calls the people
to a solemn assembly, a fast, urging them ‘Return to the LORD your God, for he
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.’ This
was an ancient Israelite liturgical description of God, found in many books of
the Old Testament. The God of the Old Testament is the gracious God who calls
us and seeks us out in Jesus Christ.
Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession and
repentance after his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband
Uriah. Though the focus is on David’s sin, the psalm can also be a reminder of
our desire to judge others, as we are less likely than God to forgive David’s
brutal victimization of others. However, we are given confidence when we
remember that God’s mercy extends to all, and that indeed God works true repentance in the sinner and not
simply a pretense of piety.
Saint Paul calls the Corinthians to be reconciled
to God. The moment of the Word’s encounter with the hearer is the ‘acceptable
time,’ the ‘day of salvation’ which the Psalms promise.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls his
disciples, who are to be ‘salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world,’ to avoid
almsgiving, prayer, and fasting which are mere pretenses in order to gain
approval of self and others. Rather these practices are to be done without
drawing attention to the self – they are directed toward God. We are promised
that there will receive a reward – and the
reward is God himself, for these spiritual disciplines bring forth fruits of
the Spirit.
The congregation and ministers gather in
silence.
PSALMODY
Choir Psalm
51:2-13 – Peter Hallock
Antiphon: Have mercy on me, O God, according to your lovingkindness.
2Wash me
through and through from my wickedness
and cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions, and
my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you only have I sinned and
done what is evil in your sight.
5 And so you are justified when you
speak and upright in your judgment.
6Indeed, I have been wicked from my
birth,
a sinner
from my mother’s womb.
7For behold, you look for truth
deep within me,
and will
make me understand wisdom secretly.
8Purge me from my sin, and I shall
be pure;
wash me,
and I shall be clean indeed.
9Make me hear of joy and gladness,
that the
body you have broken may rejoice.
10Hide your face from my sins and
blot out all my iniquities.
11Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
12Cast me not away from your presence
and take
not your Holy Spirit from me.
13Give me the joy of your saving help
again
and
sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now, and will be forever. Amen. Antiphon
The pastor
addresses the People.
Dear
People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of
our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to
prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent
provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism.
It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been
separated from the body of the faithful, were reconciled by penitence and
forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. In this manner, the
whole Congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set
forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need that all Christians continually
have to renew our repentance and faith.
I
invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy
Lent: by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving;
and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.
Silence
for reflection and self-examination.
The pastor
leads the People in confession:
Most holy and merciful Father:
We
confess to you and to one another, and to the whole
communion of saints in heaven and on earth,
that we have sinned
by our own fault in thought, word, and deed;
by what we have
done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our
whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as
ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We have been deaf to your call to
serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have
grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.
We confess to you, Lord, all our
past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our self-indulgent appetites and
ways, and our exploitation of those made in your image,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our anger at the frustration of
our desires, and our envy of others,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our intemperate love of worldly
goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
we confess to you, Lord.
Our negligence in prayer and
worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
we confess to you, Lord.
Accept our repentance, Lord, for
the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our
indifference to injustice and cruelty,
accept our repentance, Lord.
For all false judgments, for
uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt
toward those who differ from us,
accept our repentance, Lord.
For our waste and pollution of
your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
accept our repentance, Lord.
Restore us, good Lord, and let
your anger depart from us.
Hear us, Lord, for your mercy is great. Amen
The IMPOSITION OF ASHES follows.
Those who
desire to receive ashes come forward to the head of the aisle.
The pastor
applies ashes to the forehead of each person with the words:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
R. Amen
After all
who desire ashes have received them, the pastor leads the People in the
conclusion of the confession.
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.
The pastor
addresses the People.
Amen
Sit
Silence for
reflection.
Prayer of
the Day
Almighty
and ever-living 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 receive from you, the God of all mercy, full
pardon and forgiveness through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen
First
Reading
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound
the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let
all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for
the day of the LORD is coming, it is near —
2
a day of darkness and gloom,
a
day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like
blackness spread upon the mountains
a
great and powerful army comes;
their
like has never been from of old,
nor
will be again after them
in
ages to come.
12 Yet even now, says the LORD,
return
to me with all your heart,
with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return
to the LORD, your God,
for
he is gracious and merciful,
slow
to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and
relents from punishing.
14 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?
15
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sanctify
a fast;
call
a solemn assembly;
16
gather the people.
Sanctify
the congregation;
assemble
the aged;
gather
the children,
even
infants at the breast.
Let
the bridegroom leave his room,
and
the bride her canopy.
17
Between the vestibule and the altar
let
the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep.
Let
them say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
and
do not make your heritage a mockery,
a
byword among the nations.
Why
should it be said among the peoples,
'Where
is their God?'"
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to
God.
PSALM 103:8-14
8 The Lord is full of compas- | sion and mercy,*
slow
to anger and | of great kindness.
9 He will not al- | ways accuse us,*
nor will he keep
his an- | ger forever.
10 He has not
dealt with us according | to our sins,*
nor
rewarded us according | to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high | above the earth,*
so is his mercy
great upon | those who fear him.
12 As far as the
east is | from the west,*
so
far has he removed our | sins from us.
13 As a father cares | for his children,*
so does the Lord care for | those who fear him.
14 For he himself
knows whereof | we are made;*
he
remembers that we | are but dust. R
Second
Reading 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10
20 We entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to
God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that
in him we might become the righteousness of God.
As we work together with him, we
urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
"At
an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and
on a day of salvation I have helped you."
See, now is the acceptable time;
see, now is the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone's
way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as
servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great
endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings,
imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity,
knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7
truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for
the right hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill
repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9
as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see — we are alive; as
punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; as poor, yet making
many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks
be to God.
Stand
VERSE
Joel
2:13
Setting by Kevin Norris
Return
to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and
abounding
in
steadfast love.
Gospel
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1 Beware
of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then
you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2
So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others.
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you
give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4
so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret
will reward you.
5
And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen
by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But
whenever 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.
16
And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they
disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell
you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil
on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen
not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in
secret will reward you.
19
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume
and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do
not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sit
Choir Anthem Lord,
Create in Me
Text/ Psalm
51:10-18, 16-17; Music/ K. Lee Scott
Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me.
Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain me with a firm and willing spirit.
Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit
within me.
You do not delight in sacrifice;
the sacrifice of God is a broken, contrite spirit.
Lord, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within
me.
SERMON Pastor Frontz
Stand
XHymn of
the Day
Savior,
When in Dust to You Green LBW 91
1 Savior, when in dust
to you
low we bow in homage
due;
when, repentant, to
the skies
scarce we lift our
weeping eyes;
oh, by all your pains
and woe
suffered once for us
below,
bending from your
throne on high,
hear our penitential
cry!
2 By your helpless
infant years,
by your life of want
and tears,
by your days of deep
distress
in the savage
wilderness,
by the dread,
mysterious hour
of the insulting
tempter's pow'r,
turn, oh, turn a
fav'ring eye;
hear our penitential
cry!
3 By your hour of dire
despair,
by your agony of
prayer,
by the cross, the
nail, the thorn,
piercing spear, and
torturing scorn,
by the gloom that
veiled the skies
o'er the dreadful
sacrifice,
listen to our humble
sigh;
hear our penitential
cry!
4 By your deep expiring
groan,
by the sad sepulchral
stone,
by the vault whose
dark abode
held in vain the
rising God,
oh, from earth to
heav'n restored,
mighty, reascended
Lord,
bending from your
throne on high,
hear our penitential
cry!
Text: Robert Grant, 1779-1838, alt.
Let us pray for the whole people
of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.
Silence is kept.
For the health and well-being of
the whole Church, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the mission of our faith
family, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For our bishop, Dan; our pastors,
Maurice and Harvey, and all pastors, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those throughout the world who
prepare for baptism and first communion in this season of Lent, let us pray to
the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who hold civil authority
in our nation and in the nations of the world, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have
mercy.
For the sick in body, mind, and
spirit; for those who are in prison; for the poor and those with no one to care
for them, and for those we name before you:
The pastor reads the names and situations submitted for
prayer.
The people may offer spoken or silent intercessions.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord,
have mercy.
In hope for the time when our
sinful selves are fully purged in the waters of baptism, and we rejoice with
the saints in the revelation of Christ, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
The pastor concludes the prayers:
Into your hands, Father, we
commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your steadfast love, through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Amen
Since we are justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has given us access to his grace.
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
And also with you.
The people
exchange a sign of peace with the simple words, Peace be with you.
Sit
The Lord’s Table is prepared.
Stand
OFFERTORY Sung by the choir
Psalm
51:10-12 Setting
by Kevin Norris
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit.
turn us from sin to faithfulness
and from
disobedience to love,
and prepare us
to celebrate
the death and
resurrection
of Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
The pastor leads the people in
praying the Eucharistic canon:
through Jesus Christ, your beloved Son,
whom you sent in this end of the ages
to save and redeem us and to proclaim to us your will.
He is your Word,
inseparable from
you.
Through him you created all things,
and in him you take
delight.
He is your Word,
sent from heaven to
a virgin's womb.
He there took on our nature and our lot
and was shown forth
as your Son,
born of the Holy
Spirit and of the virgin Mary.
It is he, our Lord Jesus, who fulfilled all your will
and won for you a
holy people;
he stretched out
his hands in suffering
in order to free
from suffering those who trust you.
It is he who, handed over to a death he freely accepted,
in order to destroy
death, to break the bonds of the evil one,
to crush hell
underfoot, to give light to the righteous,
to establish his
covenant, and to show forth the resurrection,
taking bread and
giving thanks to you, said:
Take and eat; this is my body, broken for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
In the same way he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all
to drink, saying:
This is my blood poured out for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Remembering, then, his death and resurrection,
we lift this bread
and cup before you,
giving you thanks
that you have made us worthy
to stand before you
and to serve you as your priestly people.
And we ask you:
Send your Spirit
upon these gifts of your Church;
gather into one all
who share this bread and wine;
fill us with your
Holy Spirit to establish our faith in truth,
that we may praise
and glorify you
through your Son Jesus
Christ.
Through him all glory and honor are yours,
Almighty Father,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church
both now and forever.
Amen
In the presence of Christ,
we pray to his Father using the words he gave us.
Christ is in our midst.
By
the power of his Spirit,
we
pray to his Father, saying:
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
Where your treasure is,
there your heart shall be also. Matthew 6:21
We adore Christ, present in bread and
wine.
DISTRIBUTION
Admission to the Sacrament is by
invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized.
They may receive the
Lord’s Body and Blood who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, who commune in their home churches, and who believe
that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with, and under
the forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
The
communicants will be invited forward one family unit at a time. Please do not
come forward until the pastor directs you to come forward, do not approach all the
way to the table until the pastor has retreated.
When the pastor says ‘The body of Christ,
given for you,’ eat the bread. When the pastor says, ‘The blood of Christ, shed
for you,’ drink the wine. Please take the
plate and the glass(es) and place them on the table that is indicated.
XDISTRIBUTION HYMN
Victim Divine, Your Grace
We Claim Green
LBW 202
1 Victim
Divine, your grace we claim,
as
here your precious death we show;
once
offered up, a spotless lamb,
in
your great temple here below,
you
did for humankind atone;
and
now you stand before the throne.
2 You
stand within the holiest place,
as
once for guilty sinners slain;
your
blood for sinners intercedes,
redemption
for the world to gain.
Your
blood shall still our ransom be,
the
payment made to set us free.
3 We
have no need to go to heav’n
to
bring the long-sought Savior down;
you
are to all already giv’n,
and
even now your banquet crown.
To
ev’ry faithful soul appear,
and
show your very presence here.
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788, alt.
After all have
returned to their places, the congregation stands at the direction of the
pastor.
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ strengthen you and keep
you in his grace.
Amen
Almighty God, you gave your Son both as a sacrifice for
sin and a model
of the godly life. Enable us to receive him always with
thanksgiving, and
to conform our lives to his; through the same Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Amen
Silence for meditation.
God the
Father, who does not despise the broken spirit,
give to
you a contrite heart.
Amen
God the
Son, who bore our sins in his body on the tree,
heal you
by his wounds.
Amen
God the
Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth,
speak to
you words of pardon and peace.
Amen
Almighty God, Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit,
bless you now and forever.
Amen
XCLOSING HYMN
Jesus,
Your Blood and Righteousness Green LBW 302
1 Jesus,
your blood and righteousness
my
beauty are, my glorious dress;
mid
flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
with
joy shall I lift up my head.
2 Bold
shall I stand in that great day,
cleansed
and redeemed, no debt to pay;
for
by your cross, absolved I am
from
sin and guilt, from fear and shame.
3 Lord,
I believe your precious blood,
which
at the mercy seat of God
pleads
for the captives’ liberty,
was
also shed in love for me.
4 Lord,
I believe, were sinners more
than
sands upon the ocean shore,
you
have for all a ransom paid,
for
all a full atonement made.
5 When
from the dust of death I rise
to
claim my mansion in the skies,
this
then shall be my only plea:
Christ
Jesus lived and died for me.
6 Then
shall I praise you and adore
your
blessed name forevermore,
who
once, for me and all you made,
an
everlasting ransom paid.
Text: Nicolaus L. von Zinzendorf,
1700-1760; tr. John Wesley, 1703-1791, alt.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
EVENING
PRAYER will be held each Wednesday in Lent, beginning on March
9 at 6:30 p.m. All are encouraged to intensify the life of prayer in Lent
through these services.
OUR PURPLE LENTEN OFFERING ENVELOPES WILL GO TO
SUPPORT the NALC Disaster Response, which is
active responding in the name of and with the support of NALC Congregations to
those affected by natural disaster in the United States. You may bring these
offerings to Wednesday Evening Prayer or on Sundays, or mail them to the
church. Learn more about the NALC Disaster Response at https://thenalc.org/nalc-disaster-response/.
EASTER
FLOWER SIGN UP SHEETS are available in the Narthex. Please make your
selections by Sunday March 27, 2022. Lilies, Mums, Hyacinths, and Tulips are
available. Costs and color selections are listed on the sheets.
From Sundays and
Seasons.com. Copyright 2022 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission
under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20540.
New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Praying
Hands, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of
the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57495 [retrieved
February 14, 2022]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mulmatsherm/2220427507/
Additional liturgical material from
Common Worship: Times and Seasons, copyright the Archbishop’s Council of the
Church of England, 2006; and Book of Common Prayer 2019, by the Anglican
Church in North America.
St Stephen Lutheran Church
55 Forsythe Road
Pittsburgh PA 15220
(412) 279-5868
office@ststephenpittsburgh.org
Saturday Evening Worship – 6:30 pm
Sunday Morning Worship – 10:30 am
