SEASONS OF THE CHURCH YEAR
LATAERE: FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 2026 Mar 15
“You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19). Though we know the curse of Adam is true, it’s far from the whole story. Throughout every moment of repentance and solemn contemplation of Lent, we are forgiven Easter people!
May God the Father, who created this body; may God the Son, who by His blood redeemed this body; may God the Holy Spirit, who by Holy Baptism sanctified this body to be His temple, keep (this body) to the day of the resurrection of all flesh. Amen.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
April 1, 2019 / Letter From the President, The Magazine / By Matthew Harrison
SERMON TEXT:
John 6:1-15
Feeding the Five Thousand
6 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.
3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.
4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.
5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”
13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.
REFLECTION
The term "Laetare Sunday" is used by most Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches. The Latin laetare is an imperative: "rejoice!"
The Introit reads:
Lætare Jerusalem...
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem; and be ye glad for her, all ye that delight in her: exult and sing for joy with her, all ye that in sadness mourn for her; that ye may nurse, and be satisfied from her consoling breast.
Historically, the day was also known as "the Sunday of the Five Loaves", from the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. [6]
HYMN
Glory Be to Jesus
1 Glory be to Jesus,
who in bitter pains
poured for me the lifeblood
from his sacred veins.
Hear the Sermon on YouTube
(posted shortly after the Service but not live streamed)
youtube.com/@oslcchatham6321
BECOME A PART OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY
We welcome you to worship with us.
Services follow the liturgical order of worship which Christians have used historically.
Our music is traditional style, using Lutheran Worship and other sources.
The Gospel is central to our worship, and God comes to us through His Word and Sacraments for forgiveness of sins, life and eternal salvation.
HOURS
SUNDAY SERVICES
to the end of March at 10:00 am
COMMUNION
The first and third Sundays of the month