Savior, teach us so to rise!
By Pastor Ryan Edgecombe,
Broadwell Christian Church,
Central Presbyterian Church - Petersburg
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[March 26, 2024]
To be posted
Hello Friends:
As this little article reaches you, we find ourselves in the Lenten
Season and well on our way to Easter! There are so many great
"images" or "pictures" that God paints in our hearts and minds as we
traverse this holy time of year.
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We
are going through a period of darkness, yet the light is dawning!
Darkness can symbolize or communicate ignorance, isolation, a
coldness, even hopelessness. We need the light of God's love to
shine on and shine through... His light represents truth, newness or
renewal, and hope. We read in Matthew that there was darkness over
all the land during the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday. How
thankful we are that at His resurrection an enduring light pierced
through that seemingly insurmountable night!
Isaiah helped to prepare us for this new reality many years before
Jesus walked among us, "The people who walked in darkness have seen
a great light; those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them
has light shone." (This is usually used as an Advent text, but it is
appropriate to apply it ultimately to the death and Resurrection of
our Lord!)
We are experiencing a great weight upon our shoulders, and yet
relief is coming!
Lent is a time to get in touch with our own
sinfulness and/or brokenness. This is not a fun process, but it is
certainly necessary if we are to live in reality. If we think that
we are somehow on a "moral high ground" over and above and/or
superior to our fellow human beings, we are not living in reality.
Paul is pretty clear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the
glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Have we recognized or owned up to this
tragic reality? Have we felt the weight of shame that comes from
turning our back on the One who has created and provided for us
through His immeasurable love? Lent is a time to revisit this with
self- awareness and with humility. Lent is a time to genuinely
grieve our sins, leading us to repentance. We need to feel the
weight on our shoulders or on our chests, so that when Easter comes,
we feel the strong and mighty hands of the resurrected Lord lifting
and casting those burdens into the abyss, raising us up so that we
might rejoice, and dance, and sing in celebration! Relief is coming!
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We have experienced the grief of death, yet a
promise of true life has been given!
Change, loss, grief, and death are very much a part
of the human condition. We have all been there and felt that pain. I
remember as a child thinking quite a bit more about death and loss
than a lot of children my age, due to the fact that my twin sister,
Rachel Ann Edgecombe, died around 6 hours after she was born (we
were significantly pre-mature). Do I have any memory of Rachel? Of
course not. Did I spend quite a bit of time dreaming about what
might have been? Absolutely! Did I question why I had the chance to
live and Rachel did not? Absolutely! Did I feel that I was not quite
complete without my sister to grow up alongside me? Absolutely!
Death is a part of our experience, but because of the Resurrection
of our Lord at Easter, we know that death will not be part of our
experience forever. In Christ life conquers death. I truly believe
that one day I will see Jesus face to face, and I will even get to
be with my sister again.
I'll close with a couple verses from one of my favorite Hymns (Go to
Dark Gethsemane - 1825)
Calvary's mournful mountain climb there adoring at His feet.
Mark the miracle of time, God's own sacrifice complete. "It is
finished!" Hear the cry: Learn of Jesus Christ to die.
Early hasten to the tomb where they laid his breathless clay. All is
solitude and gloom, who hath taken Him away? Christ is risen! He
meets our eyes: Savior, teach us so to rise! |