Midweek Lenten Worship March 25, 2026
“Lent=Love” Exodus 20
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
The Book of Exodus, therefore, has two parts – freedom from and freedom for. Freedom from Pharaoh and Egypt happens early one morning at the Red Sea. Freedom for living in love, however, is a long, drawn-out process. It begins with the Ten Commandments. (Reed Lessing, “Deliver Us”, Page 187)
Today is our final Wednesday worship. In these past 6 weeks we have spoken about God’s deliverance in the Book of Exodus – a picture of a greater deliverance yet to come in Jerusalem about 1,500 years later at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus and His amazing resurrection from death. Our deliverance was fully completed on Good Friday and Easter.
The Book of Exodus tells us how God, again and again, rescued His people from destruction. Shiphrah and Puah, the two Israelite Midwives risked their lives to save Jewish boys. Moses, the least qualified leader, by human standards, with God’s power, would lead God’s people to safety. In the desert God fed His beloved with bread from heaven.
And why did He do it? Love. In the book of Deuteronomy God says to His people, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people of his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) They were His cherished, the apple of His eye, and He worked His work for them.
How do you define love? That isn’t an easy thing, is it? There was once a woman who was driving her husband’s new red sports car and got into an accident. The woman broke into tears. It was all her fault. How was ever going to face her husband? It was his brand-new car. The man in the other car was sympathetic but insisted that they exchange car insurance information. The teary-eyed woman reached into the glove compartment to retrieve the documents and the first paper to fall out had these words written on it: “Honey, in case of an accident, remember it’s you that I love, not the car.” What does God do when we’ve made a mess of things? It all begins with His action of compassion and mercy.
Lessing gives an illustration: A teacher in a creative writing class asked her students to write something that said “I love you” without using the word love. Here’s what her students came up with: “Honey, your hair looks just great dyed purple and bright orange.” “These cookies you cooked are hardly burned at all.” “Sure, I’ll go to the tractor-pulling event with you. Looking forward to it.” “You take the last piece of apple pie with vanilla ice cream and caramel on top.” What do all these words of saying “I love you” have in common? What do they all show? Sacrifice.
How do you know that someone truly loves you? They sacrifice for you. They put you first. They tell you that they will do what it takes to show how important you are to them. What do you do for them? The same.
I have titled this message “Lent=Love”. For 6 weeks we have listened to a message about God’s sacrifice for you and me, and the whole world. Do you know the hymn, “What Wondrous Love Is This?” The first verse goes like this:
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul! (LSB 543, Verse 1)
He loves you. Love Him. The Ten Commandments that God gives us are meant to be the words of love’s response from us to God and to others. Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment. Do you remember what He said? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Love is what we are called to return to God and to show to all others. The Ten Commandments begin with these words of God’s deliverance: “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’” (Exodus 20:1-2). He then begins the Ten Commandments. We love Him, by keeping such commandments because of His love and His deliverance.
Deuteronomy 6 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them to your children, you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Verses 4-7)
“When Jesus and Paul summarize the Ten Commandments with the word love they aren’t referring to a feeling. Biblical love is a choice to act. Biblical love is something we do.” (Lessing Pg. 188) Love God deeply. Love others joyfully.
The Book of Exodus, as I mentioned previously, has two parts. First it is a freedom from. Then it is a freedom for. It was a freedom from Pharaoh, from certain death, from slavery. God brought that freedom. And then there is a freedom for living with love to God and to others. It is a freedom to live in peace with others. It is a freedom to share mercy as God has shown mercy.
Next week we get to realize that we have been blessed with true freedom in living our lives. God has delivered us from everything that robs us of God’s freedom, and we live in a freeing grace to live a new life.
Lent=Love. It does. I hope you know that. Amen!!
