"Alleluia, thou resoundest, true Jerusalem and free; Alleluia, joyful mother, all thy children sing with thee, But by Babylon's sad waters mourning exiles now are we.

"Therefore in our hymns we pray Thee, grant us, blessed Trinity, At the last to keep Thine Easter with Thy faithful saints on high; There to Thee forever singing alleluia joyfully."

Soon we will come to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. On the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday many churches will say or sing "Alleluia!" for the last time, laying aside that word of praise for the season of Lent. Then, on Easter morning, churches will echo again with shouts of praise: "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!" Lent is a season of repentance, a time for sorrow over sin, the sins our Savior carried in His body on the cross. Our praise for Jesus continues, but during the solemn weeks of Lent, we do not let our alleluias share space with our repentant prayers.

While we lay aside our alleluias for a short season, that word still resounds endlessly in the heavenly city, the "true Jerusalem and free." In his letter to the Christians in Galatia, the apostle Paul compares life in slavery under sin and the law to the earthly city of Jerusalem. In Baptism we have been born again, set free in Christ from sin and death. Wherever we may have been born on earth, through Baptism we have a new hometown! As Paul writes, "The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother" (Galatians 4:26). We are sons and daughters of God, and we will live forever in His presence in the heavenly city—that is where we belong! That is our true home!

For now we are exiles, living away from home, yet always living in service to our crucified and risen Lord. Our hymn refers to a psalm that was the sorrowful song of the exiles living in a foreign land, away from Zion, the city of Jerusalem they loved: "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion" (Psalm 137:1). For a little while we are living as exiles away from our home in the heavenly Jerusalem. Although we will not sing alleluia for a few weeks, our praise to Christ Jesus never ends. As Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out in prayer, using the words of a psalm: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Psalm 22:1a). That same tragic and triumphant psalm, which so clearly describes the crucifixion of our Lord, also exclaims in praise to God: "Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel" (Psalm 22:3). Our alleluias are quiet for a while, but throughout Lent, as we follow Jesus along the road to the cross, He is still enthroned on our praise.

WE PRAY: Jesus, my alleluias are quiet for now, but my praise for You will never end. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, "Alleluia, Song of Gladness," which is number 417 in the Lutheran Service Book.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you prepare in any special way for the season of Lent?

2. Why is it that many churches will cease to say "Alleluia" during Lent?

3. What will prompt us again to sing "Alleluia" at the end of Lent?

Today's Bible Readings: Exodus 39-40    Mark 4:21-41

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