Prayer Practice
Spoken Prayer – Pray aloud, asking God’s Spirit to hear and soak in this remarkable passage; that you feel and marvel at this incredible gospel: Jesus has risen!
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Death Interrupted
by Dan Kidd
It’s hard to imagine a less restful Sabbath than this one. Their beloved friend, rabbi, son, prophet, healer, deliverer, and Christ—their Jesus—had been betrayed, abandoned, falsely accused, mocked, tortured, executed, stabbed, and laid in a tomb. Can you imagine their grief?
Perhaps so. Some of us have experienced pitch-dark nights of the soul. We’ve sat in our tattered robes; worn the ashes of loss and wept through devastated dirges. Suffering, and particularly death, are ruthless enemies.
Did they sleep at all that Sabbath? Could they do anything but sleep to postpone their sorrow? All we know is that at dawn the next day they were en route to the tomb, carting spices to care for the lifeless body of their Jesus and cast their eyes on him one last time. Mary of Magdala, Joanna, James’s mother Mary, and the other women with them.
But their anguish was disrupted. The tomb was open and… vacant? What has happened here? Who would thieve Jesus’ body and to where would they take it? And who are these two men wearing flashes of lightning for clothes?
In two simple sentences, a question and a gospel, we learn that our cruel and relentless enemy, death itself, has lost the contest. Since Abel’s blood cried out from the ground east of Eden, death dealt one conquering blow after another. Millions (billions?) of bodies returned to the dust from which they’d come. But now, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
These poor, profoundly blessed women now have the responsibility of pronouncing the unbelievable nonsense that death had lost to Jesus! Indeed, they were unbelieved because resurrection is not sensible. But it was true nonetheless. Peter, being Peter, shot like a stone from a sling to the tomb because of course he would. He too found it empty, because you won’t find the living among the dead.
It would be impossible to sufficiently capture the magnitude and profundity of this event. Let’s not try. Instead, let’s once more—right now—sit in our wonder over Jesus’ resurrection, and the promise of our own resurrections.
Then pray, “Lord, disrupter of our anguish, thank you!”
2 comments:
Dan, what a beautiful devotion! I have read it twice and am still soaking in your words. You have a gift my friend. Your words paint a vivid picture that fills my heart. Thank you. -- Judy
Dan:
Like Judy, I found your words to be not only descriptive but insightful. The "profundity" of this event is something that begs we ponder, for it is the best news for all generations.
I decided to read all 4 gospel accounts of the resurrection. If the writers of the gospels had to appear in court to support their testimony a jury could be easily convinced they didn't correlate with one another based on the description of the events, the timeline and who the actual eye witnesses were. The seemingly confusing series of events and witnesses would be child's play for any trial lawyer. So how come these apparent contradictions don't deter us, as a believing community, of the actual resurrection of Jesus? He said he would rise from the dead, he rose from the dead and he appeared to many people, including Paul. His words never return void. We believe because the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that Jesus has risen indeed!
Thank you again for today's blog. You have inspired my curiosity to look further at the centerpiece of our faith. Nothing can shake this faith in a Risen Savior.
As an aside--Mary Magdala is one of my favorite characters in Scripture. I can't wait to meet her.
Robin Lorms
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