Daily Devotion

24 April – You will not grieve like the rest

Audio

Today is Thursday of Easter Week, 24th April. Take a moment to be still.

We start by praying the words of Psalm 114:

¹ When Israel went out from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
² Judah became his sanctuary,
    Israel his dominion.

³ The sea looked and fled;
    Jordan turned back.
⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs.

⁵ What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?
⁶ O mountains, that you skip like rams?
    O hills, like lambs?

⁷ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸ who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    the flint into a spring of water.

The Scripture reading for today is Luke 7:11-17

¹¹ Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!”¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Reflection

This is another amazing account of someone being raised from the dead. Note that Jesus did it spontaneously out of compassion. He told her, “Do not weep.”

Death is tragic not just because a human life has ended. It can be ultimately tragic if it ends relationships. Love is severed, consigning it only to painful memories. Isn’t it cruel to receive a gift only for it to be taken away – forever?

Do note that the young man was not resurrected. He was resuscitated. As C.S Lewis quipped, the difference is for the poor young man, one day, he has to die all over again. The resurrection of Christ is an unique first in human history.

Let’s focus on the blessings of the restoration of this young man to his mother. Jesus recognised the deep human bond of family love. In fact, he Himself wept when he encountered the grief of those who were mourning the passing away of Lazarus.

Is there a pain that can run deeper than the lost of a loved one?

We wish that resuscitation of the deceased can happen more often. But the fact remains that our days, even if they can be lengthened by miracle or medicine, are numbered. Sooner or later, we will grieve.

What we can draw from today’s reading is that God understands. Often, he weeps with us. And He has offered us the ultimate solution through Easter. In Christ, we can all be together in eternity, never to be separated again. As St Paul said:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

Prayer

Spend a moment to remember and give thanks for your loved ones or friends who have return to the Lord.

Collect

We end with this collect:

God, the source of all holiness and giver of all good things:
may we who have shared at this table
      as strangers and pilgrims here on earth
be welcomed with all your saints
      to the heavenly feast on the day of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In closing, be blessed by this song, Scars of Heaven by Casting Crowns.

If I had only known the last time would be the last time
I would’ve put off all the things I had to do
I would’ve stayed a little longer, held on a little tighter
Now what I’d give for one more day with you
‘Cause there’s a wound here in my heart where something’s missing
And they tell me that it’s gonna heal with time
But I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased
And knowing yours are healed is healing mine

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now

I know the road you walked was anything but easy
You picked up your share of scars along the way
Oh, but now you’re standing in the sun, you’ve fought your fight and your race is run
The pain is all a million miles away

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven, yeah, are on the hands that hold you now

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, for the hands that hold you now

There’s not a day goes by that I don’t see you
You live on in all the better parts of me
Until I’m standing with you in the sun, I’ll fight this fight and this race I’ll run
Until I finally see what you can see, oh-oh

The only scars in Heaven, they won’t belong to me and you
There’ll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new
And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down
Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now

Link to today’s Morning Office