Thought for Today
Genesis 1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Exodus 9:5 The Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land." 6 And on the next day the Lord did so; all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but of the livestock of the Israelites not one died.
John 12:12 The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
Yesterday was Easter. Today is the ‘next day.’ Genesis tells us that on the first ‘next day,’ "Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." Next days can be good things, important things. Despite all of the recent rains and storms, water is essential for life.
‘Next days’ can also be less than desirable things. I’m confident that had a survey been conducted among the Egyptian livestock owners, they would not have been much in favor of at least one particular ‘next day.’
When we read about Jesus in the Bible, some ‘next days’ were good, positive, wonderful days, causes for celebration. Palm Sunday was a mere 8 days ago. Palm Sunday was a ‘next day,’ following the preceding Saturday. Matthew wrote about that ‘next day,’ “21:8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’" Palm Sunday, then and now, was a celebratory occasion.
I often refer to Holy Week as an emotional rollercoaster ride. The soaring celebratory heights on Palm Sunday. Descent into betrayal and trial on Maundy Thursday. Even lower, Crucifixion on Good Friday. A flat ride on at the bottom on (nameless) Saturday . . . and then rise to the peak height of Easter Morning and the Empty Tomb.
Today is “Next day” Monday. As Christians today, on our “Next day” Monday, are we hiding behind locked doors in fear? Are we cowering, afraid of secular, social criticism if we dare to publicly declare our faith and belief in the glory of the Empty Tomb? Here in our nation, we have since our beginning, highly valued the concept of separation of church and state. The First Amendment of our Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
There are reasonable, cogent arguments on both sides of our long-standing debate over free speech of both secular and religious ideas. I cannot imagine any Christian advocating unlimited freedom of speech, advocating the right to yell “FIRE” in a crowded theater. Few of us would advocate the establishment of a state religion . . . even of our own particular, denominational expression of our faith. Much as I love my own Protestant Reformed faith, I do not want Calvinism or any other enshrined in the laws of our nation. The U.S.A. was established, in part, in response to the mess European governments had created by having established state religions and suppressing any dissenting beliefs.
But on the ‘next day,’ and on all the succeeding ‘next days,’ I will continue to publicly declare my own joy in the glory of the Easter Morning Empty Tomb. I n our present world, Christendom encompasses nations where public expression of any faith is repressed. Some nations within Christendom still have state religions and my own particular faith tradition would be either discouraged or suppressed.
I understand the “fear of the Jews” of those first disciples. Guilt by association has long been a very real thing. But, I also know that I will never hear Jesus tell me “Peace by with you,” if I cower behind closed doors, if I fail to publicly declare to all who will listen, “I believe in Jesus, the Christ.”
Stay safe, live lives of faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray