Daily Devotion

Voice: Jennifer

Alleluia. Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Today is Thursday of Easter Week, 9th April.

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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.

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.

This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

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You will not grieve like the rest

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)

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In our Lectionary for today, we are asked to commemorate Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life and ministry. Dietrich was a brilliant theologian and Lutheran pastor who lived and ministered through the World War Two years. One of his most well known gift is his book, The Cost of Discipleship. It is a tome which carried his no-nonsense approach to following Jesus. He attacked cheap grace as an excuse for moral laxity. He wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

While many of his Christian compatriots were moving along with the rise of Hitler and Nazism, Dietrich stayed true to his beliefs as a disciple of Christ. He paid the cost eventually and was hung in April 1945 for his anti-Nazi activities.

He had all the marks of a brilliant leader and theologian.
We can only imagine the impact he might have had if he had lived into his sixties—teaching, writing, shaping generations.

But that was not God’s calling for him.

At the age of 39, Christ called him— and he obeyed.

He came, and he died.

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Prayer

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

We also give thanks for Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life with this Collect:

Embolden our lives, O Lord, and inspire our faiths,
that we, following the example of your servant Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
might embrace your call with undivided hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Link to today’s Morning Office