The Third Sunday of Easter — Misericordias Domini
Our Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd. (John 10:11-16) He is not like the hireling, who cares nothing for the sheep and only for himself, who flees when he sees the wolf coming. Rather, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks out His scattered sheep to deliver them. (Ezekiel 34:11-16). He gathers them and feeds them in rich pasture. He binds up the broken and strengthens the sick. He lays down His life for wandering and wayward sheep. On the cross Christ bore in His body the attacks of the predators of sin and death and the devil for you that you might be saved. He now lives to restore your souls in the still waters of baptism, to lead you in the paths of righteousness by the voice of His Gospel, to prepare the table of His holy supper before you, that you may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23) “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21-25)
Introit: (Psalm 33:1, 18-20; antiphon: Psalm 33:5b, 6a)
Pastor: The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Alleluia!
Congregation: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. Alleluia!
P: Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
C: Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
P: That he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
C: Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.
Gloria Patri – pg. 186
Collect of the Day
O God, through the humiliation of Your Son You raised up the fallen world. Grant to Your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16 +
“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. (12) As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. (13) And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. (14) I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. (15) I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. (16) I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
(From Quasimodo Geniti through the week following Pentecost,
the Gradual is omitted and the Alleluia Verse is lengthened)+ 1 Peter 2:21-25 +
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (22) He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. (23) When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. (24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (25) For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Lutheran Confessions Responsive Reading: Smalcald Articles
P: (Part II, Article I: The first and chief article) What is the first and chief article of the Christian Faith?
C: That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins, and was raised again for our justification, Rom. 4:25. And He alone is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, John 1:29; and God has laid upon Him the iniquities of us all, Is. 53:6. Likewise: All have sinned and are justified without merit [freely, and without their own works or merits] by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in His blood, Rom. 3:23f
P: Now, since it is necessary to believe this, and it cannot be otherwise acquired or apprehended by any work, law, or merit, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us as St. Paul says, Rom. 3:28: For we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the Law. Likewise 3:26: That He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Christ.
C: Of this article nothing can be yielded or surrendered nor can anything be granted or permitted contrary to the same, even though heaven and earth, and whatever will not abide, should sink to ruin. For there is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved, says Peter, Acts 4:12. And with His stripes we are healed, Is. 53:5. And upon this article all things depend which we teach and practice in opposition to the Pope, the devil, and the whole world.
Verse: (Luke 24:35b; John 10:14)
P: Alleluia! [The Lord] was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Alleluia!
C: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia!
- John 10:11-16 +
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (12) He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. (13) He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (14) I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, (15) just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (16) And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.