Day of Praise

Mo, Nov 19 "Day of Praise"

"Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." - Mark 16:8

In order for us to think together for a moment about this verse, it would be good for you to read this verse in a regular Bible. You should also read the study notes connected to it.

So, with that encouragement to you, we can now say that this is a very interesting ending to the Gospel of Mark.

Trembling, bewildered, fled, said nothing to anyone, afraid.

Those are hardly terms that you'd use to start a church today. They're not happy terms. They're not contemporary music material. They're not terms of material prosperity.

But they're real.

And they're terms which create a crossroads. They force a decision.

You can either reject them altogether.

Or you can say in faith, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

Just out of curiosity, let me ask you a question, "How many times a day do you think you stop and say, 'Lord, what do you want me to do?'"

What did you say? Not that many? Excuse me? Did you say that some days it's not at all?

Huh. Interesting.

As a Christian in the Lutheran tradition, I'm a part of a tradition that holds to what's called a "Theology of the Cross". Very simply, historically, we Lutherans spend time considering the horror and ugliness of the cross of Jesus. As with a few other Christian traditions, we observe Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, which also are not happy and joyful times.

But they create a crossroads. They force a decision. You can either reject them altogether. Or you can say in faith, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"

That's what things that are characterized by "Trembling, bewildered, fled, said nothing to anyone, afraid (Mark 16:8)" do.

They force us to decide if we're going to go it alone. Or are we going to reach for Almighty God, and call on his name, and ask for his wisdom, his counsel, his help, and his strength.

Real life is filled with a thousand of these moments everyday. A thousand crossroads.

God wants to be your God, your wisdom, your counsel, your help, and your strength.

Call on Him.

He will answer.

Praise God!

Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson