Waiting In Agony Or Anticipation?

"Today's Devotion" For March 26, 2005 (Holy Saturday)

Read: Matthew 27:62-66; Psalm 62

WAITING IN AGONY OR ANTICIPATION?

"Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." (Ps. 62:1, 2)

Experiencing major letdowns in life is nothing new to most people. People strive every day for significant goals, gaze on the future with magnificent vision, and look to accomplish great things. Arriving at the end of the goals, the visions, and the accomplishments isn't always easy, it's never guaranteed, and, as so many of us know, life doesn't always turn out the way we have hoped. Hard work, "right living", and intellectual ability frequently don't accomplish the end goals. Sometimes events and circumstances seem to be going in all the right directions, the future look exceedingly bright and promising, and people are feeling good about their chances of success when, WHAMMO!, out of the clear blue disaster strikes. Trying to pick up the pieces seems futile, and nothing but despair looms on the horizon.

Do you think that's how things must have seemed for Jesus' disciples and His family? If it were me at the Cross, watching the Man I'd come to love and respect so much that I was willing to follow Him and give up my life's work for the sake of His message, I'd be in despair. He's just been crucified, having experienced the most horrific form of capital punishment known to humanity in His day. He died. He was buried. All the powerful words, magnificent promises, and wonderful visions He had laid out are gone. He's in a tomb sealed by the Roman governor and guarded by soldiers because His enemies are afraid of false propaganda by people like me, who were His followers. I've thrown everything away; my life is a shambles; I've got to go pick up the pieces because I put all my trust in Him.

How many times haven't we been drawn to the foot of the Cross on Good Friday and seen the agony of Jesus? Standing there we've seen no one except the Mary's and John. All the other disciples ran away and were in fear of their lives. There's no doubt that they felt their dreams dying as their Lord was dying. How horrible and empty this day, the day after, must have been for all of them. It was the Sabbath, they were supposed to be at worship, and I've always wondered how many of them actually went to the Temple, which itself was in a shambles since the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the main part of the Temple had been rent in two when Jesus died. How would we have felt if it were us? How would we have responded if we had been there?

Jesus had always promised that He would overcome Sin, Death, and the Devil. He had promised He would rise again on the third day when He noted to His detractors, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (Jn. 2:19). Yet to His disciples, that promise looked foolish and broken as His beaten, lifeless body was hurriedly laid in the tomb before the Sabbath. From that time on they were either agonizingly awaiting the coming of the authorities to drag them away as followers of Jesus, or they were awaiting with anticipation their Lord's resurrection. The events of Easter morning and subsequent events during the next week seem to show that the wait was agonizing, not anticipatory.

It's not a very big leap for us to walk in the shoes of those early disciples of Jesus. The advantage we have is hindsight, as the Scriptures offer us. Yet, even with that hindsight, we are often torn between agonizing over when God will answer our prayers, or waiting in eager anticipation for His answer. Living life can either be an exercise in agony, filled with uncertainty as to what might happen tomorrow, or it can be a joyful life of faith filled with full anticipation of God's blessings and love in Christ. As we look to tomorrow's celebration of Jesus' resurrection, we do so filled with the full assurance and reality of His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness that we experience each and every day of our lives. Blessed by hindsight and filled with faith by the power of the Holy Spirit, filled with confidence and hope in our Baptisms, and blessed with God's peace in our hearts, we wait on our Lord with anticipation and joy. As we awaken tomorrow morning, Easter Morning, we will be blessed with the renewed realization and hope that "He is Risen. He is Risen indeed! Hallelujah!"

Prayer: Father, I thank You that You sent Jesus to be my Lord and Savior from Sin, Death, and the Devil. He overcame the grave for me and all humanity, and You raised Him up as a sure and certain declaration of Your acceptance of His sacrifice for me and all people, once and for all time. Whenever I am torn between the agony of my sinful doubts and the anticipation of my faith in Jesus, I pray that You would send Your Spirit upon me in abundant measure that I might cast aside my doubts, fueled by my sinfulness, and cling with full hope and anticipation to Your promises in Christ. Continue to build my hope in You through Your Word that I might be a faithful and true witness to others in how I live my life, both in word and deed, so that in me they might see Jesus and be led to the full anticipation of Your love. In the name of my Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.