(Bible readings: Mark 14:43 to 16:8; Rev. 21:4; 22:20)
It’s Friday… Jesus has been betrayed by one of his closest friends. The Jewish Council has convicted him in a hasty and dubious trial. His disciples have abandoned him, the crowd has rejected him, and Pilate has handed him over to be mocked, tortured and crucified.
It’s Friday…and Jesus has died on the cross. It seems death has triumphed.
We have had our Fridays:
the favorite toy that was broken beyond repair;
the young love that was stifled by circumstances;
the career we aspired for but could not pursue;
the loss of the job we have been proud of;
the teenage daughter whose life was snuffed out by an active shooter;
the hurricane that wrecked our home and destroyed all that we owned;
the relationship that never worked out and had to end;
the heart attack that came out of nowhere;
the passing of a loved one whom we have cherished for many years.
We may have our Fridays…
But it’s only Friday and Sunday is coming.
And Sunday has come! The big stone covering the grave has been rolled away. There is only an empty tomb. Jesus has risen from the dead; the grave could not hold him back. Christ has defeated sin, death, Satan and hell!
Sunday has come! Grace abounds! Jesus lives again!
Jesus says to us, “I love you and I will walk with you through your Fridays. Someday I will come again and take you with me to a place where God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. In that place there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
A Devotional by Rev. Emmanuel Ilagan
