Friday of the Fifth Week in Lent

March 27, 2026Today's Reading: Mark 15:33-47Daily Lectionary: Exodus 5:1-6:1; Mark 15:33-47 “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. The final words of Christ make a declaration. Christ is truly alone with the weight of all the sins of all people from all time bearing down upon him. He has completed the requirements of the law, and now the perfect sacrifice for all mankind is finished. “Why have you forsaken me?” is uttered, and He breathes his last. He is alone and dead. His father has turned His back on Him. The few that have come to the cross stand at a distance. All that is left is to bury Him.It is not a glorious death. His death is a death of humiliation and torture. It is a bloody death filled with agony and pain. His disciples have left him but one, John. The local church leaders have stopped by to deride him and cast their insults upon Him. They truly kick Him when He is down. No mercy is shown to Him other than a bit of sour wine on a hyssop branch. Often in our lives, we are left feeling all alone. We may cry out in a similar fashion, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Various circumstances in our lives can leave us feeling as if no one is with us. We continually hear the shallow platitudes of those around us regarding the omnipresence of God. Yet the darkness in our lives seems overwhelming. The family is still fighting. The homework is still piling up. The parents are still divorced. The slanderous remarks still spew from fellow classmates in the hallways and on social media. We are left under the weight of our sin and abandonment.It is in the sacrament of Holy Baptism that we are reminded that we are not alone. In all of the above circumstances, we see the separation and loneliness that exists on account of sin. In your Baptism, you are connected to the cross of Christ. His being forsaken by God the Father is your promise that God the Father will never abandon you or forsake you. Your Baptism is that seal, that promise that God never turns His back on you. It is not that you “were” Baptized but that you “are” Baptized. Daily, when the sins of this world bear down upon you, you can proclaim, “I am Baptized.”In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.I bind unto myself the name, The strong name of the Trinity By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three, Of whom all nature has creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word. Praise to the Lord of my salvation; Salvation is of Christ the Lord! (LSB 604:5)