"Do This In Remembrance ... "

It was, at the time, one of Martin Luther's most popular published sermons. The year was 1519. It was titled: "Sermon Concerning Meditation on the Holy Sufferings of Christ."

10 Gems to guide you as you draw closer to Holy Week. You might want to take some time to meditate, to reflect on these words from Luther, to be "lost in wonder, love, and praise."

1. "What happens to us when we see the dear Child of God struck down like this? We realize how inexpressible, even unbearable, is the Son’s total commitment to saving sinners."

2. "Then you will understand what Christ meant when he

said in John 3:16, 'God so loved the world that he gave

His only begotten Son.' This is how we know God

as He wants us to know Him.

We know Him not by His power and wisdom,

which terrify us, but by His goodness and love.

There our faith and confidence stand unmovable.

This is how a person is truly born again in God."

3. "Take your sins and throw them on Christ. Believe with a joyful spirit that your sins are His wounds and sufferings. He carries them and makes satisfaction for them, as Isaiah 53:6 says, 'The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.'"

4. "If we dwell too much on our sins, going over and over

them in our conscience, keeping them close to our hearts,

soon they will become too much for us to manage

and they will live forever.

But when we see our sins laid on Christ and see

Him triumph over them by His Resurrection,

and fearlessly believe this, our sins

are dead and become nothing".

5. "By His resurrection He makes us righteous and frees from all sin. If you are not able to believe then pray to God for faith. This is entirely up to God. He gives faith at times very dramatically and openly, and at other times, secretly and quietly."

6. "People who never view the sufferings of Christ correctly

are the people who never call upon God and ask him to help them. Instead, they try to consider Christ’s suffering on their own and end up viewing Christ’s sufferings in a purely human and unfruitful way."

7. "Let me say this very clearly and openly for all to hear. Whoever meditates on Christ’s sufferings the right way for a day, an hour, even for fifteen minutes, is doing something far better than fasting for a whole year, praying all the Psalms every day, or listening to one hundred (sermons)."

8. "When we meditate on the Passion of Christ the right way, we

see Christ and are terrified at the sight. Our conscience sinks in despair. This feeling of terror needs to happen so that we fully

realize how great the wrath of God is against sin and sinners.

We understand this when we see how God sets sinners free

only because His dear Son paid such a costly ransom for us."

9. "We need to meditate on Christ’s passion, not with lots of words or with a showy display, but put it to true use in our lives. Paul admonishes us in Hebrews 12:3, 'Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.'"

10. Press forward through all difficulties and see His friendly heart. Look how full of love God’s heart is for you. It was this love

that moved Him to bear the heavy load of your conscience and sin.

If you do this, your heart will be sweetly loving toward Him.

The assurance of your faith will be stronger.

All quotations taken from "Meditating on the Passion of Christ." Translated by Paul T. McCain.