Scripture: Psalm 69:18
Draw near to me, redeem me, set me free because of my enemies.
Thought for the Day: In this amazing season of Easter (the Easter season is six weeks), we continue with our Easter experience and seek the God who rolled away a stone from a tomb. Jesus did not raise himself, for the verb ‘to raise’ is always a passive verb. God did the work, and let me suggest that God continues to roll away the stones from a multitude of tombs in which we find ourselves. Let me also suggest that even though God has redeemed us and released us, many of us remain trapped inside those tombs by our inability to claim what God has done. Someone needs to call us out. Even in the story where Lazarus was raised the dead (John 11), Jesus first thanked God for responding to his request, and then cried out to the recently opened tomb, “Lazarus, come out!” Only then does Lazarus step into the sun of a new day. Where do you remain stuck inside a tomb that has already been opened? Where do you continue to be trapped even though the exit has been available?
Prayer: Call again, O Gracious Lord of New Life, and let me follow that voice toward an exit that is in fact the entrance to my new creation. Amen.
Join us this Sunday
as we talk about God rolling away
the stone of bitterness…
1 thought on “Ecclesiological Etchings: 04-06-13”
My prayer for this Easter season is that the Holy Spirit will reveal to me the stones that keep me entombed. It is so easy to pretend that they do not exist as I hide behind the veil that I use to protect me from personal hurt. It is, conversely, hard to understand that the veil I use for protection can also be the source of my pain. Hidden pain hurts so much more than pain that is laid out before the Son. For it is there, in the light of the Son, that healing takes place.
I pray this prayer for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ.