Today's Reading: Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter

       (Psalm 81:1, 71, 10, 16b; antiphon: 1 Peter 2:2a)

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 19:1-25; Hebrews 13:1-21 

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." (From the Introit for the Second Sunday of Easter) 

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. As you read through various narratives in the Old Testament, it's easy to see that when God is saving His people He is also feeding them. As the Israelites were being delivered from their slavery to Egypt, the Lord gave clear instructions as to how they would be fed. In Exodus 12 the Lord established the Passover meal for His people. They were about to be freed from their slavery under Pharaoh, and in preparation the Lord told them to take an unblemished lamb and kill it. They were to paint the doorposts of their houses with the blood of the lamb and they were also to eat. The Lord told them; "In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover." 

Throughout the generations of Israel, God's people were to remember their deliverance from Egypt and how the Lord fed them at the same time. Each Sunday we gather around the Word of God where we are reminded of how Jesus our Lamb was slain for us and for our salvation. God has brought us out of our slavery to sin as we have been washed clean in the blood of Jesus. In the same way, the Lord feeds us in the midst of our salvation. We come to the Lord's table to partake of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the whole world. We eat as strangers and sojourners in this world as we follow the great Exodus out of this world and into the Promised Land prepared for us by Jesus. 

Until that time comes for you, remember the Lord's salvation for you in the Cross and resurrection of Jesus. Open your mouth wide so that He may feed you with Himself the bread of everlasting life which forgives you and strengthens you in body and soul until life everlasting. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

Blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, You have given Yourself to us in this holy Sacrament. Keep us in Your faith and favor that we may live in You even as You live in us. May Your body and blood preserve us in the true faith to life everlasting. Hear us for the sake of Your name. Amen. (Prayer of Thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament)

-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Over eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.