The Stone Is Rolled Away
EASTER
SUNDAY, March 31
Mark 16:1-8
On this Easter Sunday, I’m struck by the question the women ask on the way to the tomb: “Who will roll away the stone for us…?” (v. 3, NRSV). Of course, we know that when they arrived, the stone would already be rolled away, and they would find out Jesus was raised from the dead!
I love that image and all it means for us. The stone at Jesus’s grave was rolled away, and he emerged victorious over the worst humanity could do and over death itself. In the midst of all the brokenness we see and experience in our world, that rolled-away stone reminds us that our Lord has experienced it all, and yet is greater than all of it and greater even than death itself. May that truth sink deep into our hearts this Easter. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Lord Jesus, we rejoice that you are risen from the dead. Remind us again that the stone is rolled away and you are alive. Amen.
PRAYER FOCUS: PRAISE GOD FOR THE RESURRECTION
The Overflow of God’s Grace
MONDAY, April 1
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain” (v. 10).
Paul speaks of himself as a recipient of the grace of God in this chapter, but in fact, everything he recounts here is drenched in the grace of God! We could take each person named and recount how God’s grace transformed their lives. We can recall the great transformation in Peter as he went from denying Jesus before his death to Pentecost, where he preached to a huge crowd, and we could do the same for each apostle.
We too have encountered the risen Christ, and his grace has been poured into our lives. I invite you today to reflect on and name the ways you have experienced God’s grace and how you have been changed by it.
Lord, thank you for all the ways you have touched my life with your grace. Amen.
This Is the Day
TUESDAY, April 2
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (vv. 23-24).
So often we refer to verse 24 of this psalm on its own. Maybe we have sung it in a simple chorus that is running though my head now: “This is the day/This is the day, that the Lord has made/that the Lord has made.” If you know that song, you’re welcome for the earworm for the day!
This verse’s meaning deepens when we read the whole psalm and when we read those words on Easter Sunday, doesn’t it? That was and is a uniquely miraculous day that God made. In that glorious day, we were freed from death’s terror, that we might live in the light of God’s grace. Thanks be to God.
Lord, thank you for this day and this Easter week. We rejoice and we are glad for the new day that dawned on Easter and for your gracious presence in our lives and our days. Amen.
PRAYER FOCUS: A GRACE-FILLED HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
He Calls Us His Own
WEDNESDAY, April 3
John 20:1-18
“For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (v. 9).
This is my favorite account of the resurrection, as we see Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John (the other disciple) each reacting to the surprise of the empty tomb differently, and then the touching way that Jesus revealed himself to Mary in the midst of her grief.
The hymn “In the Garden” was inspired by this passage and is meant to give comfort, which I have seen many times as I have sung it with the people I serve. I think the most powerful words in its chorus are “And he tells me I am his own.” God has called us his own—in sharing our life and our death, and in going ahead of us in his resurrection.
Our Lord who was dead and is now alive, thank you for calling us your own so completely. Our hope is in you. Amen.
Grace in New Places
THURSDAY, April 4
Acts 10:34-43
“We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem”
(v. 39).
Peter is preaching this sermon in a place he never imagined he would be—in the home of a Roman centurion. We are told earlier in Acts 10 of Cornelius the centurion’s faith and of God’s work in Peter’s heart to prepare him to go to Cornelius’s home. In this sermon, we see the fruit of all of that. Here is yet another example of God’s grace at work transforming the lives of Peter, Cornelius, and all those around them in this story.
As you have lived your life of faith, has God brought you to places you never dreamed of going, or frankly, where you didn’t want to go? How did you experience God’s presence and grace there?
Lord, so often we want to stay where we’re comfortable. Grant us the grace to follow you into new ways and places, even when they are outside our comfort zones. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: A WELCOMING SPIRIT IN OUR CHURCH
Remembering the Future
FRIDAY, April 5
Isaiah 25:6-9
“Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces” (v. 8).
Have you ever noticed how much we remember the future in our gathered times of worship as Christians? This passage is a familiar one, as I’ve often heard or read it at funeral or memorial services, as well as some of the words we use celebrating holy communion. In both those settings, we remember a time to come when God will make all things new and whole, when death and sorrow will be wiped out forever by God’s creation of a new heaven and a new earth.
The other amazing part of this is that not only can we remember the future, but we are to be signs of that good future here and now as Christ’s followers, bearing witness to that future now in how we live day by day.
Lord, thank you for all your promises and how you sustain us as we remember the future you have promised. Amen.
New and Old Songs of Praise
SATURDAY, April 6
Isaiah 42:10-13
“Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth!” (v. 10).
This week we have celebrated again our Lord’s victory over the ultimate enemies of sin and death in his resurrection. Like most of Jesus’s life, this came in a most unexpected way as he suffered, died, and was raised to new life. This does deserve a new song—and one from all of creation!
As this Easter week comes to an end, what is your song of praise to the Lord? I invite you to think of the things you regularly include in your songs or prayers of praise to the Lord, and then to add to it a new song or prayer of praise today. Once more we say, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
We praise you this day, our Savior and Lord, for who you are and all you have done. We lift our old and new songs and prayers of praise to you today! AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: TO BE ALIVE IN CHRIST AND ALERT TO LIFE
