The transition from Epiphany and the Time of Christmas to Lent and the Time of Easter is the point of greatest divergence between the one-year and three-year calendars. Both lectionaries conclude the Season of Epiphany with the Transfiguration of Our Lord, but the one-year lectionary does so three weeks earlier (this year on 25 January), followed by the several so-called “Gesima” Sundays of Pre-Lent. These three Sundays are a front porch or narthex to the Season of Lent, not unlike the final Sundays of the Church Year in relation to Advent. They serve as a kind of boot camp in preparation for the discipline and spiritual warfare of the penitential days ahead, although they look forward not so much to Lent per se as to the Paschal Feast. They are named for their proximity to Easter, much like highway signs that indicate the number of miles to one’s destination. By way of anticipation, Pre-Lent frames the Church’s approach to the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus in repentance and holy faith.
Septuagesima takes its name from the seventy days between this Sunday and the Octave of the Resurrection, that is, the Second Sunday of Easter. Sexagesima is approximately sixty days prior to the middle of the first week of Easter; and Quinquagesima is approximately fifty days prior to the Feast of the Resurrection itself. Septuagesima calls to mind the seventy years that Israel spent in Babylonian captivity, anticipating the return of the people to Jerusalem. These seventy days are especially significant for the catechumens and penitents who will be admitted or restored to the fellowship of the Church through catechesis, repentance, and either Holy Baptism or Confession and Absolution in the celebration of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ.
The appointed lections and other propers of Pre-Lent focus on the righteousness of faith in Christ and on the righteousness of the Christian life in Christ. The Parable of Laborers in the Vineyard (St. Matthew 20:1-16), the Holy Gospel for Septuagesima, declares that not only are we called by the grace of God in Christ, but even the wages we receive as workers in His Kingdom are by the generosity of His grace, in contrast to the death that we deserve as the wages of our sin. To be sure, we are not called to sit idle on the sidelines but to work in whatever place and for whatever time the Lord has appointed to each one of us within our own proper office and station in life. So does the Church pray in the Collect of the Day for Septuagesima: “O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequences of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your Name (LSB Altar Book, 863).
In the Parable of the Sower (St. Luke 8:4-15) on Sexagesima, Christ freely distributes the Seed for all to receive, but only by His Word and Spirit does anyone have the ears to hear and the faith to bring forth the good fruits of the Gospel. It is likewise by His Word that He preserves our faith and life in the midst of sin and death, against the assaults of the devil, the world, and our flesh. Martin Franzmann’s hymn, “Preach You the Word” (LSB 586), beautifully proclaims this Holy Gospel. And the Hymn of the Day, Luther’s “May God Bestow on Us His Grace” (LSB 823), prays and praises in the joyful confidence that the Lord’s Word will accomplish His purposes and bring forth a harvest of faith: “O let the people praise Thy worth, in all good works increasing; the land shall plenteous fruit bring forth, Thy Word is rich in blessing” (st. 3).
In the Holy Gospel on Quinquagesima, the Lord Jesus reveals His coming Passion, Cross, and Resurrection to the Twelve for a third time, though they are unable to understand His Word; and He heals a blind beggar as he approaches Jericho on His way to Jerusalem (St. Luke 18:31-43). The persistent prayer, faith, and renewed eyesight of the beggar offer a contrast to the confusion of the disciples then, while calling Christians now to the catechesis and confession that will be set before them during Lent. Instructed by the Cross and Passion of our Lord, we acknowledge that we are beggars before Him, and we cry out for His mercy in the light of His Resurrection. It is in that glad confidence that the Church rejoices on Quinquagesima, even on the cusp of Lent: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:1-3).