"that with cleansed hearts we might be prepared to celebrate the Paschal feast in sincerity and truth."Lent is not preparation for Good Friday; it is preparation for the Paschal feast, for Easter.
01 March 2009
Despite the rather
awkward wording of the new Lenten preface in LSB, it is quite wonderful that week by week the goal is set before us:
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5 comments:
Awkward wording, I agree: "that with cleansed hearts we might be prepared to celebrate the Paschal feast in sincerity and truth."
Lent is not preparation for Good Friday; it is preparation for the Paschal feast of Easter.
The Lutheran Hymnal used the preface for the Holy Cross throughout Lent:
....who on the tree of the Cross didst give salvation unto mankind; that, whence death arose, thence Life also might rise again; and that He who be a tree once overcame might, likewise, by a tree be overcome, through Jesus Christ, our Lord; through whom with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious name, evermore praising Thee, and saying:...
Although it makes a direct reference to Good Friday, it does acknowledge the Resurrection. The Victory would not have been gained had Christ not arisen from the grave.
The Lutheran Worship Lenten preface states: "... for that Thou dost bid Thy faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast. Renew our zeal in truth and life, and bring us to the fullness of grace that belongs to the children of God: therefore....
The Anglican Missal has the following Lenten preface: ... because by Thy bodily fasting Thou dost curb our sinfulness, dost raise our minds from things of earth, dost renew our strength and reward us with maniflod blessings; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore....
A Roman source which I do not recall uses the following Lenten preface: ...for that Thou dost bid Thy faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by Thy Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which Thou hast prepared for those who love Thee. Therefore, with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify Thy glorious name, evermore praising Thee, and saying....
All things being considered, from this list I would select the LW Lenten preface.
Deacon,
I note that the Roman, the LW, and the LSB all have in them explicitly (and the Anglican implicitly) the reference to the cleansed heart. I think that's an important theme for Lent, and carries out the collect for Ash Wednesday: "Create in us new and contrite hearts."
I would enjoy hearing Pr. Weedon explicate what "cleansed hearts" mean. I've taken it to be a hearts that cling to and receive the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, with no additives. That squares well with the "sincerity and truth" business.
What say you?
Tom Fast
Sorry for all the typos. And I meant to ask you for a more complete explanation than the one you gave, if you should be so moved.
Tom Fast
Pr. Fast,
I'd put it slightly differently. A cleansed heart is a heart cleansed BY the Holy Spirit through the gospel and one that thus HOLDS tight to our Lord Jesus. I am reminded of how Peter proclaimed in Acts that "He cleansed our hearts by faith."
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