on the 4th day....

Monday morning. Interesting that the day after Jesus rose from the dead was a Monday morning. So how are you after Easter? sometimes there’s two kinds of people you run into on “post easter - Monday mornings”:

1.) You went to vigil on Saturday night, or Sunday morning mass/service; you got all dressed up; the songs were happier, the church was more full than it has been all spring. The homily/sermon had a new story or a new joke. But even if it’s bad, people all smile and chuckle, because hey - it’s EASTER! WOO-HOO!!!! You hung out with friends or family, talked about the scriptures and reminisced about years gone past of former struggles and thought, “He HAS risen today. I’m a new person. God is transforming me from the inside out!!” AMEN.

2)you woke up on Sunday and it was just another day. you lamented about how it shouldn’t be snowing in April, or how you’re still alone, or how holidays just make you remember how messed up your family is. You went to church, and no one said hello. You wanted to sing, but the lady next to you who sounds like she swallowed a pager is belting out “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” so loud that your old brain cells are excited about making room for new ones. You can’t remember the sermon or the readings; in fact, in your memory, they all loosely resemble the lovely trombone-esque “wwwoooooAAAH woooAAAHHH WOOOOAAAAAAH” of charlie brown’s teachers. You went out to eat with some friends, but they all cancelled on you. Same thing with your family. Or your family did go out to eat; and you argued the whole time. You can’t remember the last time you had a conversation with anyone who didn’t pick up their cell phone during, or txt msg someone back. Your only thought about your faith or your relationship with God was “what faith? what relationship?” you went to bed feeling the same way you woke up.

Here it comes. Here comes the good news. you ready?

Today’s the fourth day.

Today we all woke up all in the same place again. Sinners. In need of saving. In need of a rescue.
Today when the Sun arose in the east, it echoed words from the prophet Isaiah; “See, i am doing something new. Do you not perceive it?”
Yesterday was special; yesterday was about remembering that humanity has been fundamentally changed on EVERY level by the resurrection of Jesus. So regardless of what kind of day you had yesterday, today is a new day. On the fourth day, Jesus still rose from the dead. On the fifth day, he still rose from the dead. On the 395,724th day - guess what? yep. there’ a pattern developing here….
so be encouraged, wherever you are; and know He’s leading you into deeper waters….
matt