The Wednesday of Ember Week in Lent
Posted on March 12, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 12:38-50 (NKJV)
12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.
43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Devotion
Sometimes God says “No” to our requests. He knows all and He sees all. He is supremely benevolent and almighty. He knows if our requests are made in faith according to His Spirit, or if they are made in vanity and dishonesty.
How we react to the Lord, whether He says “yes”, “no”, or “wait”, is a matter of faith and humility. Penitential seasons in the Church year help us to remember that He has taught us to lean on Him in all things and depart from evil. If we faithfully pray, “Thy will be done,” then we also believe that our sinful hearts can be wrong. His Word teaches us to repent of our sinfulness, when we see it and when we do not. And He teaches us to trust in Him as His little ones; not demanding things from Him like a spoiled child, but asking Him in meekness, yet also trusting boldly in His gracious promises!
It is not enough just to have the sins and evil spirits cast out of us; we must be filled with His Spirit, His truth, and His work. Our Lord teaches us to pray and discipline ourselves because He uses those exercises to guide us in His Word and be filled with strength and faith by His power. As our Lord reminded St. Paul, He also teaches us in these seasons: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
Collect: Mercifully hear our prayers, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty against all our enemies; 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 Invocavit Sunday
O Lord, mercifully hear our prayer, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty to defend us from them that rise up against us; 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 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.
