Resurrection Day

Lectio Divinia (Sacred Reading)

Psalm 98 (Psalm 93:3-4; Psalm 96:11-13; Psalm 100)

Most of our days are spent fixated on matters of consequence for us. Some days, the issues at hand are quite exhausting, requiring a great deal of focus. Other days, the issues are not near as intense and less attention is needed. However, our real struggle is often discerning which day we are facing. Thankfully, we are not required to simply submit to the day. Instead, each day is called to its own tasks and focus based on what God has done in giving us the day. And rather than seeking to control the output of the day, perhaps we should attempt to work in concert with what is happening around us. What if that is the case and we do not see it due our insatiable need to control it? What if the day as we have it - specifically the natural currents of daily living - has set into motion an attempt to honor God with its activities? What if in the process of our daily tasks, the world around us calls out to us to join in the celebration of what God is doing?

Each Resurrection Day should remind us that all of creation longs to worship God with us. As we gather with other believers to bring worship into the house of God, perhaps it would be permissible to ask all of creation to join us. Perhaps today prior to worship, we should go to the exterior doors of all our buildings in which we worship and open them, welcoming all of creation to participate with us. What if today we hear a song of worship in the chirping of the birds or in the bark of a dog? What if today we were to listen for the power of the wind or clapping of river waters in adoration of the God is never far from us? What if you could hear the sound of praise in the laughter of a child? What then would be our focus our fixation?

What if today when we worshipped God, we asked Him to allow us to work with Him as he continued to facilitate life? What could happen in our lives today if rather than focusing on lunch for the family or the laundry that must get done, we simply asked God to give us a Sabbath day of rest? What might happen in our spirits if today we took a mid-afternoon nap in glory of God rather than an escape from living? What if the dinner we prepare was done as an act of worship for God and what if we prepared a place for him to sit and eat with us? What if today we decided that like creation we could not simply sit by while God worked among us? What if the mere presence of His Spirit among us called for us to give glory and honor to all that he does? What if today, because we have fully experienced the power and presence of the living God, we closed our daily prayer not with Amen, but a more honest expression of our awe and wonder: “God, you’re friggin amazing!”

Go In Peace