We encourage you to read this devotion three times a
day. Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection
question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon
question for reflection. For the evening, take time to ponder how this
has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening
question. We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we
invite you to pray what is in your heart.
Matthew 27:57-66
7When it was evening, there came a rich man
from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to
Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to
him. 59So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth 60and laid
it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great
stone to the door of the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. 62The next day, that is, after the day
of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
63and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive,
‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64Therefore command the tomb to be made
secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away,
and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception
would be worse than the first.” 65Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of
soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went with the guard and
made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Reflection:
In Jesus' day, crucifixion was considered a
shameful way to die. It was reserved for those who committed crimes against the
Roman Empire. The crosses were left up to put fear into the hearts and minds of
the Jewish people and to reinforce the power of the Roman Empire over the
occupied people. Pilate and his guards thought they could overpower Jesus.
First, by killing him; second, by shaming him and his followers through the
public death on the cross, and third, by sealing the stone in front of the
tomb. What they could not understand is that Jesus carried with him a power
stronger than the Roman legions, stronger than any physical force, a power even
stronger than death. Jesus' power comes from God. It manifests itself as love,
mercy, forgiveness, charity, and justice. Even today these may not seem as
powerful as brute force, but the resurrection shows us that God can overpower
armies, stones, and even death. This empowers us to seek assurance in God's
power instead of earthly powers.
Reflection Questions:
Morning: If Pilate
and his guards represent earthly powers that are seeking to overpower God, what
could those earthly powers be today?
Noon: Do I seek
assurance and find hope in earthly power or in God?
Evening: How can I
participate in the God's power (love, mercy and forgiveness) instead of
Pilate's power (fear, force and shame)?
Prayer: God, help me to ignore the powers in this
world that work against you and instead to trust in the power of love, grace,
and faith. Give me strength when I am weak and offer me grace when I fall
short. Help me to live empowered by the hope of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. In His Name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment