Month: April 2020

The Resurrection of the Lord
Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Colossians 3:1-4 or 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8; John 20:1-9

The symbolism of night and darkness pervades the Gospel of John. At the very beginning we hear the proclamation that the light of the Incarnate Word of God comes to shine in the darkness (1:5).

The Gospel of John, chapter 20, verse 1: “On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark!”

Why does Mary come? Why do any of us go to cemeteries?

Regardless of the burial customs, the symbolism is the same. Whether you throw the ashes into the ocean or bury them in a garden, the reign of Death is stark, merciless, and irrevocable. The symbolism of night and darkness pervades the Gospel of John. It symbolizes the reign of sins and death.

You know the cold clasp of death when we buried someone. We know it in the literal sense when someone who means the world to you is gone when you yourself must stare it in the face.

You also know in a hundred other ways, as the death of friendship, the death of a career, the loss of youth, the loss of health, the death of happiness, and even the death of a dream!

All of that seems to all of us like the tomb of hope.

Why did Mary go to the tomb in the middle of the night? We are not told. But one thing is for sure; she was not expecting the resurrection.

There were dying and rising gods all over the Mediterranean, but none of them were actual figures. No one, absolutely no one, expected to see such a thing happen to a real person. To the one whom you know the most!

That is why, when the Magdalene came to the tomb in the dark and saw that stone had been removed, she ran to Peter and the others with the news that Jesus’ body had been stolen.

What other explanation could there be for an empty tomb?

Remember this: The evangelist wants us to know that the Resurrection was truly inconceivable. The two disciples did not know what had happened until they got there. The resurrection happened at night. No one was there when it happened. He rose from the kingdom of Death and carried away its spoils. The rising sun revealed the victory already accomplished. The dark become morning. So the risen, living, reigning Christ says to us this morning, as he said to Martha:

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”

Do you believe this? Jesus is right here. He is right here in a way that no one else has ever been.

Even now, there is a real sense in which you can, as the song says, “put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee” (ELVIS PRESLEY).

Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself

And you can look at others differently
Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee

My momma taught me how to pray
Before I reached the age of seven
When I’m down on my knees
That’s when I’m closest to heaven
Daddy lived his life, two kids and a wife

Well you do what you must do
But he showed me enough of what it takes
To get me through, oh yeah!

Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea

Take a look at yourself
And you can look at others differently

Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee

Oh yeah!
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself
And you can look at others differently

Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee
Oh yeah!

Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man
Who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself
And you can look at others differently

Put your hand in the hand of the man
From Galilee
Oh yeah!

Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee
Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee, Oh yeah!

It is complicated to describe how this can be.

But just as the beloved disciple grasped by faith that Jesus’ body had passed through the grave clothes, so also, we today may grasp by faith that he is risen and alive.

The dark becomes morning. So the risen, living, reigning Christ says to us this morning, as he said to Martha:

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” Amen.

DR. Rony Kusnadi, Ph.D., LCPC
Notable Life Counseling Services LLC

https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/445711

“They cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” (Psalm 107 v. 6)

Many of us have to know the feeling of depression, complete darkness, and hopelessness; like you, we are trapped in a bottomless pit with no escape, falling further and further and further…. Maybe you’ve been there or are there right now, but if not, you’ll almost certainly know someone who has or is.

Many people have suffered from a deep form of depression. Their doctors may then have prescribed a medication called ‘Prozac.’ Some may be uncomfortable taking the drugs because they see it as a “happy pill” to block the sadness. However, this is not the case. Prozac is just a form of treatment – just like aspirin is. It helps your body regain the correct balance of chemicals within your brain, helping to end the depression for some time or even for good.

Depression isn’t just a state of mind. It isn’t WRONG or a sign of weakness you suffer from; it is a medical condition – a real illness.

The greatest thing of all is that God still loves you! You may or may not be depressed, but in God’s eyes, you are still the most important thing to Him – we all are! Even in the Bible, we read about people who were depressed. Elijah, a prophet (a messenger from God), suffered from depression, and God still spoke to and loved him and used him to spread God’s word to people. Read about it in the Bible, in the book of 1 King, chapter 19).

So, in times of trouble, remember that you can always bring your worries and problems to God in prayer, and He will listen because He loves you and cares for you! Have a read of these great passages from the Bible…..

“We often suffer, but we are never crushed. We never give up even when we don’t know what to do. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we get knocked down, we get up again.” (2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 8 to 9.)

by Anonymous