The Friday after Laetare Sunday
Posted on March 20, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. John 6:60-65 (NKJV)
6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”
61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”
Devotion
The “hard saying” that the disciples were referring to was the assertion of Jesus a few verses earlier: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (John 6:53-54). They object that it is too hard to understand, but what they really mean is that it is too hard for their reason to believe. As Jesus says, it offends them.
The true doctrine concerning the Person of Jesus Christ remains offensive to many, especially when it comes to His presence in the Lord’s Supper. Even those who confess that Jesus is true God and true man find it hard to believe that His real Body and Blood could be given to us as food and drink in the Sacrament. They object that “the flesh profits nothing!”, forgetting that Christ’s flesh is not mere flesh, but flesh that is personally united with the Word, the Second Person of the Trinity. Therefore His flesh does profit something: it gives life to all those who, by faith and by mouth, eat it and drink it.
Collect: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished, by the comfort of Thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Lent
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
