Sometimes our expectations don't match up with reality. We can plan, prepare, and hope for the best, but sometimes, things don't go how we want them to. We can swallow the black pill, expect the worst, and then be shocked when God gives us better than we expected. Facing the future is scary and confusing. But what if what Jesus promises and gives is even better than anything we could imagine? What if the future is known and Jesus is with us, even when we don't understand what's happening?

But something more important was happening in this crucifixion than just another tiresome execution. A soldier pierced the side of the dead body, and immediately water and blood came out. It was such a strange occurrence that one of the witnesses took an oath that he had seen it: "He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you may believe."

Like the disciples, we are drawn along by Jesus. We can do nothing except follow Him, watch, and listen. Everything hangs on Him. The disciples hung back when Jesus went to Jerusalem because they were scared. What is He doing? Does Jesus want to get Himself killed? The fearful, faltering disciples Jesus draws on.

As we approach the cross of Christ in faith this Holy Week, we pray that he strips us of our illusions and idols so that we can follow the beggar king who came to save us. We pray that he gives us the strength to embrace the way of poverty and suffering, knowing that it is only through this way that we can truly find new and eternal life. And we pray in this way because the way of the cross is the way of self-emptying and suffering love, the way of dying to live, and the way of the beggar king who comes to take away our poverty and give us his riches.

The only way for there to be vindication for your cause is for God in Christ to do it. And apart from Jesus vindicating you, you cannot possibly speak truthfully or righteously. Only Jesus working by His Word and Spirit, can bring about what you’re asking for—that your enemy repent, believe the Gospel, and live! That is almost always lost in the declaration of judgment against sin. 

In today's Gospel, we have a lovely picture of the life of the faithful Christian, the joy of a local congregation, and the childlike innocence of the Christian church. The Christian, the local congregation, and the whole Church on earth live, breathe, and have their being in Jesus, His Word, and the gifts His Word gives. You, as children, trust that God the Father will always give you what you need to support this body and life. You live in faith, knowing God the Father sent His Son Jesus to suffer, die, and rise for you.

Perhaps this day you’ll observe traditionally by attending Divine Service, watching a parade in his honor, and celebrating with a festive meal, dancing, concerts, or a play. Perhaps you’ll wear green and adorn your hat, dress, or home with shamrocks. Or maybe you’ll follow a modern “tradition” of drinking a green milkshake or a wee bit too much Irish whiskey. But I’d like to suggest you add a fitting tradition to this day. Read or sing St. Patrick’s Breastplate (Lorica). Our hymnal has a paraphrased version, “I Bind unto Myself Today.” According to The Book of Armagh (9th century), this morning prayer is ascribed to Patrick. What better way to begin your day than remembering your baptism into Jesus, the promises God gives in the Sacrament and the Word that withstands all the assaults of the devil, the world, and the flesh?

Clinging to Christ and His victory, we can beat back the devil's attacks. When he tries to claim us as his own and make us despair because of our sins, we can boldly call the devil the liar he is. "No, Satan, I am not yours. Christ has died for me, and I am forgiven. He has conquered you, and so shall I." So when faith is strong, we can laugh in the face of the devil with blithe boldness. He cannot bear such scorn. The devil must then depart from us, for our Lord Jesus sits on the throne in our hearts. Then is the kingdom of God come upon us.

How long, O LORD? How long? That is the lament of the Christian in prayer. We trust that Jesus will do what He promised while it seems undone. We live in the peace of sins forgiven by declaration, not experience. We live by the Word even while its fruits seem never to show. We live in the hope of what we have not yet seen. We’re not praying against imaginary enemies and for imaginary gifts. We pray according to God’s Word, by the reality it reveals, and for the promises made.

When you get a Word of promise from God, the devil immediately wants to talk to you. And he takes what the Father says and adds that qualifier like “If!” That’s his whole strategy, his whole bag of tricks. It’s the same thing he does to Adam and Eve in Genesis. There they had a promise and a threat from God, and the serpent added, “Did God really say?” Now you know what you pray for in the Lord’s Prayer when you ask, “Lead us not into temptation.” It’s not simply asking God to keep you from hunger, threats, or even your desire for power. You ask God to give you His Word so that you speak as Jesus speaks.

The Christian life is the life of those who have been reconciled to God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And because we have been forgiven and reconciled through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are now free to love and serve others without fear or anxiety. This is what the blind man did when he followed Jesus after he was healed. He glorified God and served others, because he had been saved by Jesus’ grace and mercy.

That verse, “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” was proclaimed by the preacher to the Hebrews almost two thousand years ago. It’s just as true today for Ed as it is for you and it has been for every Christian who has heard those words proclaimed into their ears these millennia. Jesus keeps His promises. He has never left His church, working faith by the Spirit through the inspired Word breathed out on His people to give life and salvation. 

Jesus’s Word belongs in your heart, contemplated by your mind, and spoken by your mouth. You were remade in the waters of Baptism to be the dwelling place for Jesus and His Word. The Father wants Jesus to be with you daily, everywhere you go, in everything you do, and behind every word you say. By hearing preaching and receiving teaching, Jesus is sown, takes root, grows, and flourishes in you to bear fruits of faith toward God and active love for one another.

But Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, and you have already been brought in. For Christ, nothing stands in the way of transforming you and His Church into a little heaven. It doesn’t matter your socio-economic status. Your age, sex, or ethnicity is not a barrier or qualifier. You don’t have extraordinary gifts, talents, time, or wealth to contribute. You can even be crippled, lame, blind, deaf, dumb, and be brought in. You can even be a sinner—or worse, chief of sinners, and that’s no obstacle. Christ Jesus gives what no other god, secular or pagan, can provide. He forgives sins fully and completely. He cares for all generously and without expectation of return. He brings all those who hear His voice and follow Him into His vineyard, sheepfold, and harvest.

So, God located Himself for them. With the bright cloud, He said I am here for you. With His words, He locates Himself and with His name. The bright cloud is called His shekinah and His glory. "The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days, and on the seventh day, he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.” Or, if you prefer, “After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;  and He was transfigured before them” (Mt 17:1).

Great faith can ask without ceasing for healing that God can only give. And I live trusting that as God the Holy Trinity has given Naomi new life in Baptism, and forgiven her sin, then God has also promised to preserve her life both now and most certainly into the resurrection on the last day. When I think I have failed in being a Christian, I can’t seek feelings or wait for victories or look for successes to believe in and witness about. Nor can I dig about in my heart to discover a strong and victorious faith. No, I can only be steadfast in prayer, constantly go to Jesus, awaiting the word from His lips, and humble myself under the mighty hand of God "that in due time he may exalt [me and you].”

Jesus loves weddings. He cares for marriage. From the beginning, He created us male and female and wrote marriage into the fabric of nature. Thus, it is no coincidence that the first miracle recorded in John's Gospel is at a wedding. He blessed and honored marriage with His presence at Cana’s wedding feast. The Word became flesh and comes to restore flesh to be in conformity with the Word. It is Jesus who spoke man into existence after His own image. When He saw Adam, he said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Then He took from Adam's side a rib and formed it into Eve, the woman. Male and female, He made them. He gave this woman to Adam to be his bride. She was given to love and serve, and He was given to protect, provide, and love.

We were created to love and be loved. We were made to live trusting in God, our whole lives a divine service. In Jesus, we begin to see that restored in us, as our sins are forgiven in Him. We are given new life in Baptism, once again God’s own children. And as God’s children, we again live lives wholly dedicated to God’s Word and His will. “[God] gives to all life, breath, and all things…He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:25-28).

Today you may celebrate with great joy both our Lord’s obedience on our behalf and His willingness to assume the consequences of our countless “no’s” to the Father. Today you may sing and dance with joy that Yahweh Saves comes into your flesh to grant you both gifts. 

The glory that departed from the temple as the people were sent into exile in Babylon has returned to the person and work of Jesus. We see glimpses of the kind of glory of God in the Scriptures. The glory of God surrounded the herald angel and the heavenly host as they sang, “Glory to God in the highest!” On the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus’ countenance was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. Saul was given to see the resurrected and ascended Jesus in glory on the road to Damascus, so brilliant that he was blinded until healed by Ananias.