June 1

I Have Seen the Lord!

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalm 124:6-8 | 2 Samuel 18:1-19:10 | John 20:1-31 | Proverbs 16:14-15

Today’s Scripture Focus:  John 20

“I have seen the Lord!” (Mary Magdalene, 18) “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” (20) “My Lord and my God!” (Thomas, verse 28)

The Resurrection brought hope and joy to Jesus’ disciples. It brings hope and joy to us today. To the grieving, like Mary Magdalene, it brings the hope of the Resurrection. This life is not all there is. There is life eternal. There is a resurrection. Mary came to the tomb grieving and left rejoicing in hope because she was confronted by the risen Christ. The resurrection too, brings hope to us as we grieve. We don’t grieve as those who have no hope—the Resurrection of Christ brings the hope of the resurrection to all followers of Christ.

To the disheartened disciples, Jesus’ resurrection brought peace and joy.  It also brought a new focus and a new power (the Holy Spirit). They had pretty much given up hope, and had gotten sidetracked from their mission. The Resurrection gave them a message to take to the world. The Resurrection power of Jesus gave them everything they needed to take that message with boldness. The same is true for us.

To the doubting, like Thomas, Jesus resurrection brought new hope to believe. Thomas was not alone with his questions and doubts. We all confront them. But the resurrection appearance of Jesus enabled him to move beyond his doubts to worship as he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”  The evidence of the Resurrection enables us too to trust Christ, even with our questions and doubts, as we surrender them to the risen Christ.

Risen Christ, we celebrate your resurrection. It brings the hope to the hopeless. It brings peace and joy to the hurting and discouraged. It brings a fresh motivation to be bold to the timid. It brings a second chance to the one who has failed. It gives the doubter a reason to trust you, and we do. Amen.