"As we move through Lent, we never fully forget the Resurrection. We confess our sin but know we are already forgiven. We fast from food or drink or entertainment yet know these acts will not and cannot save us ... We know we are bound for death, but we never forget that in Christ, death is not the end." (Adam Navis)
For the 40 days of Lent, we dwell in the shadow of the cross, but we celebrate the resurrection each and every day of our salvation.
Day 8
Today we're reading Psalm 113 ...
Hallelujah! Give praise, servants of Yahweh; praise the name of Yahweh. 2 Let the name of Yahweh be praised both now and forever. 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of Yahweh be praised.
4 Yahweh is exalted above all the nations, His glory above the heavens. 5 Who is like Yahweh our God— the One enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile 8 in order to seat them with nobles— with the nobles of His people. 9 He gives the childless woman a household, making her the joyful mother of children. Hallelujah!
Lent is a slightly contradictory season for Christ-followers. It holds the promise of the most glorious morning - Easter - but at the same time it requires that we wait out the darkness first. Lent is a time for us to reflect our mortality, reminding us of both our beginning and end: “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), as we await the remembrance of the sorrow of Good Friday.
In this way, the season of Lent can feel like anything but a sunny morning. We spend these weeks considering our sin and reflecting on the death of Jesus on Good Friday and the silence of Holy Saturday. In this time of meditation we can find ourselves feeling more often in the dark of night than in the light of the morning.
"And yet, our God entered into our mortality, our suffering, and our darkness, which allows us to praise Him even from the depths of darkness!! (Grace Claus).
The psalmist praises God from sunrise into the night because God entered the darkness and then triumphed over it. Knowing this, we can join the psalmist in praising God day and night, rejoicing in His triumph over sin, sorrow and death, on our behalf. Our God is exalted above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. "Let the name of Yahweh be praised!"
Hallelujah!