Jesus is the proof that God keeps His promises. He keeps His promises not because of us but despite us. That probably doesn’t do a lot for our egos. God’s promise is to save His people, to rescue them. How often the Bible shows us God saving His people, rescuing them, not because of them but despite: despite their behavior, their weak faith, despite their wandering, dabbling in this, throwing their love and desire into that, avidly pursuing the idols of their fickle hearts. What an amazing God! Thinking about who God is and what He does for us, freely, from love, cultivates such humility in us, and such joy!

Here, today especially, around this table, we have the opportunity to do more than think about God. We can receive Him, receive His love in a specially sacred and tangible way, receive His promise as treasure to store up in our hearts. A taste of Christ’s nourishing substance and sweetness to remember, when temptation comes, calling us to paths that we already know lead only to sorrow and shame. Why do we still pursue those paths? Here, God says come, come back, come home: you are welcome, you are mine.

Nothing will hinder God from bringing His own to Him. Nothing can hinder God from doing this. Sin can’t. My grandfather was the one who got my sister and me to church when we were children. He was a man of deep faith. He would not receive Communion: he knew he was not worthy; he dared not come as he was before God. Sin can’t hinder God from bringing His own to Him. My sister, who developed a spiritual sensibility before I did, finally prevailed upon my grandfather to go to the rail to receive his Savior’s love, his Savior’s gift. I remember how she took him by the hand, leading him out of the pew, down the aisle to the rail, the tears he was crying, trying to stifle, but it’s hard to stifle tears of love. Unworthiness? Yes! Shocking, absolute unworthiness. How can any of us stand it? None of us, even on our best days, have merited any reward from God. God owes us exactly nothing. That doesn’t do much to build up our egos, but since when was that the most important thing in our lives? The most important thing in our lives is Jesus Christ, who came to us, and who comes to us here, today, at this table, who gave himself for us and who here offers himself to us in a sacred, spiritual way: joy, promise, hope, peace.

God tells Jeremiah that God will gather the blind, the lame, even those women so big with child that they could give birth at any moment (31:8). There was a time when people would inconvenience themselves to allow the elderly, and those with impaired mobility, to go through a door before them, or give up their seat on a bus for a pregnant woman. What a bother! Now, they’ll just have to wait, and we can get to what we want first, which is just as it should be, after all. This is nature’s way, really: we see it on those nature shows all the time. The weak and the old straggle along behind and get picked off by the predators. We’re just following nature, the laws of nature: natural morality, if you like.

God’s law, however, requires a different perspective. God’s law, which is a law of love, expects us to have a heart for the needs of others, requires that we train our hearts to serve others before we serve ourselves. The blind and the lame, those about to give birth, must not be left to the predators, prowling about like roaring lions. Those who have a hard time seeing their way forward, those who need help to walk, who struggle to walk with strength, endurance, and joy, those who need our patience and charity, and our help—let us be mindful of them. God won’t let go of them. Let’s learn from God. Let’s learn some of God’s tenacity, persistence, charity, and compassion. We can learn, from this table, in a bite of bread, a drink of this purple juice. I spoke before of the significance of the color purple.

Through Jeremiah, God describes how His people, whom He gathers to Himself, will return weeping, weeping and praying (31:9). I think they will be weeping like my grandfather: oh, there will be real sorrow and regret in the tears—penitence is the churchy word for that—and also happiness, relief, hope, and love. The knowledge of mercy, the feeling of grace. Good tears. Prayerful tears. There are no tears so tender as prayerful tears.

Some tears can blind us, hurt our eyes, but the prayerful tears are so tender because they clear our eyes, wash our eyes, and because of them we can finally see what God has been showing us all along: flowing water, a smooth road that won’t cause us to stumble (31:9), images for God’s Word. God’s Word is Christ our Savior, who speaks to us in the words of this book, and not only the words that meet our standard for approval. Christ, God’s Word, speaks to us also in this Sacrament, this promise, this accomplishment, real, glorious, available to you.

God speaks of the time when God’s people, whom He gathers, will come to Zion, that meeting place of God and His people, that place of worship and sacrifice, of safety, of promise and glory. “They will come and sing for joy on Mt. Zion, and be delighted with my gifts—gifts of grain and wine and olive oil, gifts of sheep and cattle” (31:12). The ancient Israelites used all these for worship, for the sacrifices. God’s people made sacrifices for many reasons: to atone for sin, yes, but also to feast with God, to rejoice in God and celebrate God. A rich feast. What God requires for the sacrifice and the feast God Himself supplies. He gives us His gifts. Amazing God! Beloved, there is no feast so rich, on this earth, as this bread and this juice—priceless, offered at no cost—to you.

Those who have been gathered, whose eyes have been washed by those holy tears, who have feasted with God, will be like a well-watered garden (31:12): flourishing, green, fruitful. God lavishes His waters upon us: the water of His Word, the water of this Sacrament, the water of His grace, deep water, clean water, sweet water. Grace blesses us for flourishing, fruitful living, hearts offered to God, and hands ready to help.

God promises that He will comfort His people, whom He is gathering, drawing to Himself (31:13). Our walk through this life is not so smooth as we would like. We’ve stumbled, been scraped, bruised, wounded; we bear some ugly scars. We hear about and see so many wounds around us. It can all leave us feeling worn out, confused, a bit sick to our stomachs, feeling more helpless than we like to feel, and sad. And where is hope? Where is possibility? God is the one who has the power to turn mourning into joy, sorrow into gladness (31:13). The only one. The only true power. The only true change. He promises that He will. Where? How? Here. Now, in these holy gifts that God is giving to you. You.

Now, to the One who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.