In you, O Lord, I seek Refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
Take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge….
My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand
of my enemies and persecutors
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
Matthew 27:62-66 (NRSV)
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that imposter said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Therefore command the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise the disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a
guard of soldiers; go make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Devotion – Easter People
“Every morning is Easter Morning from now on!
Every day’s is resurrection day, the past is over and gone!”
These words from an Easter hymn by Richard Averey and Donald Marsh I used frequently for Easter morning children’s celebrations at the churches I served. However, it’s uplifting message I am confident would have sounded absurd or more likely fallen on deaf ears for Jesus’ disciples on what we now call Holy Saturday. On Friday their Master and Lord, Jesus, in supreme anguish had been crucified on a cross, his lifeless body buried in a secure and guarded tomb. The disciples’ hopes were shattered, their hearts broken, their spirits crushed. Only a miracle could overcome their profound and agonizing sense of loss. God in powerful love emphatically enacted that miracle the very next day by raising Jesus from death to life to become our living Lord and Savior. No sealed and guarded tomb could defy God’s resurrection power, and history has never been the same since.
In Psalm 31:16 the psalmist beseeches God to, “ Let your face shine upon me, your servant, save me in your steadfast love.” I love this word “steadfast” to describe God. But Easter declares that God’s love is wider and deeper than just steadfast. God’s love is abiding, merciful, compassionate, transformational, victorious, and saving. It is stronger than all the hate, fear, sin, and death that you or I will ever face. Through the Easter miracle, we know that God is near; that God abundantly cares; that God’s fundamental desire is to forgive and save.
The final line of the first verse of the hymn quoted above proclaims:
“I am one of the Easter people! My new life has begun!”
Such divine love invites you and me each day to live as God’s Easter People; people filled with hope, peace, love, and joy, qualities that God and our risen savior can use to create in us “a new and right spirit.” Alleluia! Amen!
Prayer
All caring God, thank you for your steadfast love and forgiving grace. Thank you for using your all-powerful love to raise Jesus from death to life to be our living Lord and Savior. May we daily remember and celebrate that we are your Easter people. May such good news instill in us a desire in allow you to create in us clean hearts and put a new and right spirit within us. Amen.
Daniel Thomas