Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 25:1-22; John 19:23-42
I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:5-6, from the Introit for Trinity 1)
In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The antiphon for tomorrow’s Introit is what’s true about you. There are times when life hits you hard, when your sins pile up, or when those you love are hurting, sick, or dying. In those times it looks like the Lord has forgotten you or forsaken you, has turned His face from you, or even just left you to your enemies—sin, death, even the devil and hell!
But that’s not true. You have a steadfast love, you have a Salvation, you have a Jesus. Jesus is the steadfast love of the Lord. He’s the Lord’s salvation. He went through it all for you. Because of Him you’ll never be left or forsaken. Because of Jesus you’re never not saved!
It’s not just that He died and rose. It’s not just that He was forgotten and forsaken for you. It’s not just that He endured sin, death, devil, hell—yours FOR YOU. It’s that He delivers Himself—His steadfast love, His salvation—right to you. You’re baptized, and nothing in all creation, nothing in all eternity can change that. Not sickness. Not death. Not even the devil himself with all his power and demons.
Life is bad sometimes. I can’t explain it beyond saying that sin breaks stuff, corrupts it, destroys it. It makes things rotten to the core, and because of sin people die—you and those you love. It’s horrible. It really is. But that’s not true about you. That’s not lasting.
The antiphon for tomorrow’s Introit is what’s true about you. There are times when life hits you hard, when your sins pile up, or when those you love are hurting, sick, or dying. In those times it looks like the Lord has forgotten you or forsaken you, turned His face from you, or even just left you to your enemies—sin, death, even the devil and hell!
You’re baptized, so you will rise from the dead. You will see your Jesus, your salvation, your steadfast love face to face. That’s the Lord’s promise to you. Signed, sealed, delivered. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.
In a wat’ry grave are buried All our sins that Jesus carried; Christ, the Ark of Life has ferried Us across deaths raging flood. (Water, Blood, and Spirit Crying, LSB 597:2)
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