May 6, 2023

Today's Reading:  Psalm 30:1-5; antiphon: Psalm 149:1

Daily Lectionary: Leviticus 19:9-18, 26-37; Luke 11:14-36

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:2–3 ESV)

In the Name + of Jesus.  Amen.  Whether you know it or not, you are in a relationship with death, but it might not be the relationship that you think. In the Old Testament, Sheol was the place of the dead. It was a place that no one wanted to find themselves, yet everyone ended up in.  It was thought to be a place of darkness, a place with an unending appetite for consuming the living.  Whatever existence there was  in Sheol, it could not compare with being alive. The food had no taste, nothing had any substance, and God himself was not praised.  In Sheol there was no thought, no knowledge, and no wisdom.  There was also no coming back.  Once you were there that was it.  It was a one way trip.  It was the Old Testament version of Hotel California; you could check out, but you could never leave.  Any possible rescue could only come from God Himself.  God could do it, but would He?

The rest of the ancient world was even more hopeless in its relationship with death. There was no coming back from it at all. Once you died that was it.  Eumenides (an ancient play) even has the line “Once a man has died, and the dust has soaked up his blood, there is no Resurrection.”  Death could be postponed, put off, avoided for a time even, but once it came that was it. There may be some kind of life after death, but it was not an embodied life.  In their thought the relationship with death was entirely on death’s terms. 

That all changes with Jesus.  In the death of Jesus is the death of death itself.  What Jesus did on the cross forever changed your relationship with death.  No longer is Sheol waiting to devour you.  Death has been tamed and even if you should die Sheol is no longer your place.  You have been rescued from the pit.  You have been redeemed.  Here is the great truth of Easter:In the Resurrection of Jesus is the promise of your resurrection. You will return to an embodied life.  Death could not hold Jesus and it will not hold you.  Death no longer dictates the terms of the relationship.  You are part of the new covenant and its new song is your song.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

New songs of celebration render To Him who has great wonders; Love sits enthroned in ageless splendor; Come and adore the mighty One. He has made known His great salvation Which all His friends with joy confess. He has revealed to every nation His everlasting righteousness. (New Songs of Celebration Render, LSB 792:1) 

- Pastor Grant A Knepper is Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Modesto, CA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Jonathan Lackey is an LCMS seminarian.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.