Thursday of the Fourth Week in Lent
One of the reasons bread has been called the “”staff of life”” is because it is a basic food in just about every culture. Like a shepherd’s staff it can be a source of comfort, support and defense. Yet even though bread is universally common, it can also be extremely diverse. If you walk into a bakery and simply say, “Give me bread,” you might go home with biscuits or brioche, croissants or croutons, pizza or pretzels. All help sustain life, since they provide at least some level of nutrition. All can stave off hunger and quiet the grumbling in our stomachs.
None, however, can satisfy our inner hunger or grant eternal life. Only Jesus can do that. In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus declares that He is the bread of life that has come down from heaven. In the minds of the people gathered that day, the only heavenly bread was the manna God provided in the wilderness. Jesus reminds these grumblers that He is much more than manna. Manna can feed the stomach but cannot satisfy the soul.
The manna the Israelites ate during their wilderness wanderings fed them for a time but they all eventually died. The bread of life that Jesus offers leads to eternal life. Whenever we gather for worship we pray that our Heavenly Father will, “Give us this day our daily bread.” In Luther’s Small Catechism, brother Martin instructs that we ask in this prayer that God cause us to recognize what our daily bread is, and to receive it with thanksgiving. Our daily bread includes all the things we need to sustain us in this life — but we must also remember to thank God daily for the Bread of Life, our Lord Jesus, who is the only One who can truly satisfy our souls and lead us to eternal life.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, You are the true bread from heaven who satisfies the soul and gives eternal life to all those who believe and trust in You. I confess to You my own inner grumblings. Forgive me when I become so focused on what I lack today, that I forget to thank You for the abundance that awaits me in heaven. I ask You this day to guide me with Your wisdom, sustain me with Your love and feed me with the bread of life. I pray this in the name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord. Amen.
Devotion written by The Rev. David F. Keener
Morning Psalms
Evening Psalms
“”Gregory the Illuminator, Missionary Bishop of Armenia, c. 332″”
This daily prayer and Bible reading guide, Devoted to Prayer (based on Acts 2:42), was conceived and prepared by the Rev. Andrew S. Ames Fuller, director of communications for the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). After several challenging years in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been provided with a unique opportunity to revitalize the ancient practice of daily prayer and Scripture reading in our homes. While the Reading the Word of God three-year lectionary provided a much-needed and refreshing calendar for our congregations to engage in Scripture reading, this calendar includes a missing component of daily devotion: prayer. This guide is to provide the average layperson and pastor with the simple tools for sorting through the busyness of their lives and reclaiming an act of daily discipleship with their Lord. The daily readings follow the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year daily lectionary, which reflect the church calendar closely. The commemorations are adapted from Philip H. Pfatteicher’s New Book of Festivals and Commemorations, a proposed common calendar of the saints that builds from the Lutheran Book of Worship, but includes saints from many of those churches in ecumenical conversation with the NALC. The introductory portion is adapted from Christ Church (Plano)’s Pray Daily. Our hope is that this calendar and guide will provide new life for congregations learning and re-learning to pray in the midst of a difficult and changing world.