Psalm 116:8-19
8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
9 I walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I kept my faith, even when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my consternation,
“Everyone is a liar.”
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord;
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
9 I walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
The congregation I serve is enjoying a wonderful season of renewal. I’m not sure how this came about, or why, but I’m delighted to dance along with the Holy Spirit as long as she makes herself known among us.
As part of this season of renewal, we were blessed with Baptisms two weeks in a row, an adult on Easter and two little sisters last Sunday. Baptisms are special because they happen in the liminal space between this world and the Kingdom of Heaven. When the promise is spoken and the water is poured, the entire Communio of Saints shouts for joy.
After their Baptism, a candle is lit from the Paschal Candle for each person. That lit candle is handed to them with Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” From that moment on, the Baptized Child of God walks in the land of the living.
We live in a world which is filled with all manner of death-dealing things. Some days it seems as though cruelty, exploitation, greed, avarice, and neglect are all there is. When the power-brokers of this world crush the little ones under their feet, it seems as though the powers of death, hell and the devil have won. But Easter always dawns after Good Friday, and people of faith live in the light wherever they find themselves. That is the sure and certain hope of the resurrection into which we were Baptized and in which we live.
Prayer: Lord Jesus: You have already destroyed death once and for all times. Let your light shine through me to make that promise known to everyone I meet. AMEN