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QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 15, 2026 (The Fiftieth Day before Easter) Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church OUR OPENING HYMN is 685 “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” From Lutheran Service Book CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Page 184-185 THE INTROIT – Psalm 31:1, 5, 9, 16; antiphon: Ps. 31:2b-3 Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me. In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me. KYRIE (Lord Have Mercy) Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us. Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And with thy Spirit. OUR COLLECT PRAYER – O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers and having set us free from the bonds of our sins deliver us from every evil; through Jesus Christ, Your Son; our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. OUR BIBLE READINGS Old Testament: Isaiah 35:3-7 Psalm 146 (antiphon: v.2) Epistle: 1st Corinthians 13:1-13 Gospel Reading: Luke 18:31-43 THE APOTELES’ CREED Page 192 HYMN OF THE DAY: 849 “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness” THE SERMON – The Gospel reading this Sunday presents us with a stark contrast. On one hand, we have the Twelve — the disciples who have heard Christ’s teaching, seen His miracles, and received His instruction. On the other hand, we have a blind beggar: poor, marginalized, sitting by the roadside near Jericho. Here is a great and holy irony: the ones who have physical sight do not understand, and the one who cannot see has received the truth most clearly. Our Lord begins by taking the Twelve aside and saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.” Jesus speaks plainly. He will be delivered to the Gentiles, mocked, shamefully treated, and spit upon. He’ll be flogged and killed, and on the third day, rise. It is a clear description of His suffering, death, and resurrection. Jesus interprets His own ministry for them. He cannot be understood apart from the cross. His miracles, preaching, His compassion—all of it is moving toward Jerusalem. All of it is travelling toward Golgotha. And yet, St. Luke tells us, “They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” The disciples still see Jesus as the redeemer of the state of Israel. They expect a restoration of political glory. They hear the words, but they do not yet see the truth. And so, it often is, today. We can read of the suffering of Christ’s passion and recoil. We can hear of the cross and try to put that hard reality out of our thoughts. We may prefer a Christ of glory without a Christ of wounds. But Jesus will not be separated from His crucifixion, from the complete payment for our sins – God’s ultimate act of love for His creation. As He foretells His suffering, He also affirms the resurrection and our justification through Him. The cross and the empty tomb belong together. The humiliation and the exaltation are one saving work. As Isaiah prophesied, “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities.” And yet the prophet also foresaw joy: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped.” That promise stands at the heart of today’s Gospel. As Jesus draws near to Jericho, a blind man is sitting by the roadside begging. He hears a crowd and asks what this means. They tell him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Immediately, he cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He calls Him “Son of David.” This is no casual title. It is a confession of faith. The Son of David is the promised Messiah. The King whose kingdom will have no end. This blind man sees what the disciples do not yet fully grasp. He sees by faith. Those who walk ahead rebuke him, telling him to be quiet. But he cries out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Faith clings to Christ. It will not be silenced, whether 2,000 years ago or today. Faith knows its need. The pauper does not demand alms. He doesn’t claim merit. He asks for mercy. Jesus stops. The Lord of heaven and earth stands still for a beggar. He commands the man to be brought to Him and asks, “What do you want Me to do for you?” “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus says, “Recover your sight; your faith has saved you.” The Greek word Luke uses here can mean “healed,” but also “saved.” This is classic justification theology from the Bible. It is the heart of the Lutheran Reformation. Faith does not create the power to heal; it receives Christ and His mercy. This is more than the restoration of physical vision. This is salvation breaking in. A fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise. Immediately, the blind man recovers his sight and follows Jesus, glorifying God. He follows Him. That’s no small detail. Where is Jesus going? To Jerusalem. To the cross. And the once-blind man follows Him there. He worships the giver of the gift. The receiver of mercy praises the Merciful One. Psalm 146 declares, “The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.” Here, in flesh and blood, that Psalm is fulfilled. But notice the irony. The disciples, who have eyes, do not yet see the necessity of the cross. The blind man, who has no sight, sees in Jesus the Son of David and cries for mercy. The miracle isn’t only in the eyes restored, but in the heart awakened. And so, it is with us. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans tells us that by nature, we are blind to the things of God. We can’t see that our greatest need isn’t political stability or earthly success, but redemption from sin and death. And unless Christ opens our eyes, we cannot see Him rightly. As Jesus did with the Emmaus disciples, He showed how Moses and all the Prophets spoke of Him. Then, after Christ’s breaking of the bread, they understood, and their blindness was lifted. The love that would go to the cross, is also the love that saves beggars like us. For we are that blind man. We sit by the roadside of this fallen world. We can’t heal ourselves. We cannot earn mercy. But Jesus passes by in His Word. He comes near in His Sacraments. In Holy Baptism, He opened our eyes to see Him as Lord, unites us to Himself, claims us as His own. In the preached Gospel, He continues to give us faith that allows us to see Him as Saviour. In His Supper, He places into our mouths the very body and blood given and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Salvation flows from His merciful presence among fallen creatures. Without Jesus, we remain blind to the new creation. But He has come, spoken, suffered, risen. And He attends to beggars who cry out, “Lord, have mercy.” This healing at Jericho is the last miracle recorded in Luke before Jesus enters Jerusalem. The light is shining just before the darkness of the cross. The eyes of one blind man are opened, even as the world prepares to close its eyes to the Son of God on Good Friday. Yet, the darkness will not overcome the light. The third day will come. And those who see by faith will behold the glory of the risen Christ. Like the healed man, we follow Him. We glorify and worship the giver of the gift. Each week in the Divine Service, we gather not as spectators, but as those who have been given and continue to receive grace. Faith clings to, follows, and worships our Saviour. Not because we see perfectly now. But because He has opened our eyes. May we, like the once-blind beggar, receive the sight Christ alone can give. Amen. PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Page 198 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201 OUR CLOSING HYMN: 861 “Christ Be My Leader” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTBAtLXbjJ8&list=RDeTBAtLXbjJ8&start_radio=1