Lent 2024 | Day 38

By Janet Nygren
Day 38 (Thursday, Mar 28)
 
As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-center my scattered senses upon the presence of God.¹

Pause and pray.

“This man [Jesus] was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:23-24)

Think about it.

Jesus’ obedience to God’s plan resulted in resurrection. It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him! God’s resurrection moments are so much greater than anything we could do on our own. Compare the glory of Palm Sunday with the glory of Easter–the crowd promoting Jesus as king on the way to Jerusalem is nothing compared to all of creation worshiping him as king for all of eternity! This first sermon of Peter’s in Acts is another testimony of God’s transformative power on an individual. The Holy Spirit has given him words and courage like never before.

Consider.

Sometimes it helps to reframe things that have become overly familiar. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe did that for me recently. Aslan, the Jesus-like lion, sacrifices his life in exchange for the life of the boy Edmund. Like Jesus, Aslan returns to life and appears first to the sisters Lucy and Susan. It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him either, and he is bursting with life! He says, “'Oh children, I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!' He stood for a second, his eyes very bright, his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he made a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn’t know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began."² As we prepare our hearts for Easter, let’s remember how much greater God’s resurrection moments are compared to anything we could do on our own.

Pause and pray.

Jesus, help me humble myself and trust in your glory, not my own.

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

Notes

1.  Prayer used daily in Lectio365 found at https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/
2.  C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (NY, NY: Collier Books, 1978), 160.