Monday, April 5, 2021

Resurrection and Rejoicing

 

Monday, April 5, 2021

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.  This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.  This is the day the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:22-24

“Cornerstone” is used often in Scripture.  A cornerstone is the first building block for a foundation, that from which every other part of a building takes its reference. 

The cornerstone[1] of which Jesus spoke in the Gospel accounts (and later the apostles) is a reference to the Psalmist’s Messianic prophecy, a sign of how wrong humankind can get God’s plans.  Jesus, being born in a manger, living a perfect, sinless life, offering healing and help for all, was rejected by the powerful leaders of Israel, as well as the crowds.  He was nailed to a cross on Good Friday, tossed away like a misfit for the building.  On Sunday morning the entire meaning of life, death, and resurrection, along with every reason to rejoice, took on new significance when the women discovered the stone had been rolled away.  The builders of Israel’s earthly kingdom had failed miserably in recognizing the chief cornerstone, Christ, upon whom all of God’s eternal Kingdom, would depend.

Movements throughout the history of humankind always begin with an idea, often righteous and lofty.  Just as often they come unglued because selfish people snatch the momentum of a movement to turn a profit.  The old saying about the corrupting influence of power culminating in absolute corruption is never truer than in religion.  Steeped in mystery and fear, religious movements hold common sense prisoner.  But, just as the grave could not hold Jesus captive, neither can any human-constructed systems stand in the wake of God’s choosing.  Death had to flee for its existance in Jesus’ tomb; so the corruption of men’s plans.

There are many movements afoot today, along with knee-jerk counter movements.  (Black and Blue Lives Mattering, Gender line-crossing, Racial, ethnic, and women’s issues, just to skim the highlights.).  Among all of these are a germ of resusscitation for those on the margin who have been beaten-down, tossed-out, and forgotten.  There are also (as in every other human-driven movement) those willing to push an agenda that has nothing to do with righteousness.  If you look below the surface, past the silliness of self-aggrandizement, you will find the gold and control such hucksters really seek.  Every time there is a moment to be seized to further a “cause” the sharp-tongued manipulators can be found in front of a microphone.

That being a commentary on our time, or any other time in human history, consider the resurrection of Jesus.  His followers began announcing it to anyone who would listen.  Over the past two thousand years God’s fulfillment of his promise of restoration have caused untold millions to rejoice and turn to Christ for forgiveness and healing.  But the announcement has also been co-opted to fuel humankind lust for power in pseudo-righteous movements, crusades, and political manipulation.  This is the darkest of tragic evil which Jesus spoke concerning what man does with God’s light, tossing the cornerstone out with the bath water.  He also named the source of such evil:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12

So…why rejoicing in the face of such evil times?  The short-answer is that it is a stark reminder of how our God is in control.  There is nothing happening, or that can happen, of which Jesus is not aware.  Neither is God worried; when the time is fully-ripened, this field of harvest will be reaped.

For You Today

There are many things going on in movements, disease, weather and climate worries, church numbers dwindling, culture wars, and the continuing madness of evil in our day.  But the resurrection promise still stands, no matter who or what attempts to manipulate its power. 

The one word about resurrection which can never be disingenuous is rejoice!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©


[1] There are 12 uses of this term in the New Living Translation…see them all HERE

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