Friday after the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Scripture: Ezekiel 17:22-24 (NKJV)
17:22 Thus says the Lord God: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”
Devotion
In all of our Old Testament texts this week we have heard prophecies of the coming Messiah and the establishment of God’s Kingdom—the Church. Again today this is illustrated to us by the imagery of the highest, tenderest branch of a high cedar. The Lord will crop it off, He will plant it on a high and prominent mountain, and it will bring forth fruit. In every one of our readings the Lord promised His Old Testament people that this Church—His Kingdom–would not fail. It would not fail because He is doing it.
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” In Luther’s explanation of this petition in the Small Catechism he says, “The Kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also…God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that…we believe His holy Word…”
We go on to pray, “Thy will be done.” Luther says: “The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also…God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature…and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die.” God says through Ezekiel in 17:24, “I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.”
We pray: Almighty God, who through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, has overcome death and opened unto us the gates of everlasting life, we humbly ask Thee to put into our minds good desires, so that by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
