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Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent

March 8, 2023

The Invitatory

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

‘Where, O death, is your victory?

  Where, O death, is your sting?’

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones

Is it too early in Lent to have a taste of Easter? My colleague Tory Dunkle finds that the readings in Lent “ feel as if all that we have realized has suddenly been covered up and muddied. There is a darkness that seems to shroud everything.” She concludes by suggesting that one read something from the Easter narrative to combat and overcome this looming darkness. I have taken her suggestion to heart in selecting this passage from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.

I imagine we all have different attitudes concerning death - death in general, death as it concerns us personally or our loved ones or anyone. Steve Strawbridge shared his perspective which I found quite moving. He said, “ Death… part of the wonderful pageant of life.” What an extraordinary, captivating and beautiful sentiment! Paul, too, gives us a rich and poetic approach to death in his Letter.

First Paul calls death a mystery, giving each of us wide berth to explore that with open and inquiring minds and hearts. A myriad of emotions and attitudes battle within us for predominance. I leave you to sort out your own feelings. I would suggest, however, that one not cling to them too tightly. We need not stress over the sequence or order of events. What’s important is the experience of what lies in the future for us. The resurrection will be specific and personal to our personal condition. One who is perishable and mortal is subject to the destruction of death. One who is imperishable is clothed in the resurrection and therefore not at the mercy of death. “Death where is your sting?” Here is the triumph! The newly constituted body is invisible to the human eye, but not to spiritual eyes. Here is the outcome of the mystery.

Death is that one singular enemy that can only be overcome by participation in the resurrection, a participation that can only occur through the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sting of death of this life is replaced by the resurrection.

When we account for our behavior in this life, remember that sin means failing to meet the purpose of God and the life he ordained. Call it, if you will, an estrangement or alienation from God. Sin would be lacking in power if there were no awareness of God’s purpose revealed by the law.

The real victory over law, sin and guilt is given by God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Having received his forgiveness, one no longer needs to fear death - or anything else. The greatest miracle of all is that a guilty sinner is innocent and this innocence is a gift given by divine forgiveness worked out by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By faith in Christ we know that we are forgiven and we have life immortal. Just as the fear of death and punishment is lost, so the assurance of the gift of life in resurrection is gained. For this Paul gives thanks to God. We do, also.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

   hallowed be thy Name,

   thy kingdom come,

   thy will be done,

       on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

   as we forgive those

       who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

   but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

   and the power, and the glory,

   for ever and ever. Amen.