March 18, 2024 

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-37

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 2:1-22, Mark 14:32-52

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.  If you remember anything about Jeremiah you will remember that this guy loves to weep.  Day and night tears streamed down his face, not because he was a cry baby, but because of the grief that he bore over the people of Israel, the nation of Judah.  And because Jeremiah was God’s prophet, his tears were God’s tears.  …  Remember, the people were in exile and this was all from their own doing.  For generation upon generation they had played footsie with other gods, batted eyes with foreign idols, and found themselves in the backseat of Baal’s car.

Their sin was idolatry, First Commandment stuff, but it was often expressed in terms of the Sixth Commandment because YHWH was their true Bridegroom that they had spurned.  Jeremiah and the many prophets before him had constantly warned the people of their idolatrous adultery, but the people never listened.  And so now they find themselves in Babylon, Jerusalem destroyed, Temple torn to the ground.  Things couldn’t get any worse.  They had broken the covenant God had made with them and now they reap the fruit of their labor.

But mystery of all mysteries, God is not yet finished with them.  Like an ever faithful husband He promises to make another covenant with them.  Not like the old one cut with the blood of bulls and goats, but a new one cut with the blood of a firstborn Lamb.  It is this covenant that will last forever, that will never be broken.  And the knowledge of the Lord will be written on their hearts, on your hearts, because He will forgive their iniquity in Christ and remember their sin no more because of the sacrifice of His Son.

And this promise of God will be yours until the eternal vastness of the heavens can be measured, which is just His way of saying, “This covenant in Christ will never end.” In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain, Sinners, ruined by the fall; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows for you, for me, for all, In a full, perpetual tide, Opened when our Savior died.  They that drink shall live forever; ‘Tis a soul renewing flood.  God is faithful; God will never Break His covenant of blood, Signed when our Redeemer died, Sealed when He was glorified.  (LSB 435:1,4)

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.