The Daily Song Reflection devotional is taking a week’s hiatus and will return on April 25th.
He Is Risen
Click here to follow the Lenten Song Reflections Spotify playlist.
Click here for information about our special Sunday “Mini-Easter” playlist on Spotify.
(please note…today’s songs will not be on the Lenten Song Reflections playlist, since Lent is now finished. They will be included on the “Mini-Easter” playlist)
Easter Sunday
It is no overstatement to declare that today is the most important day in the Christian year, commemorating the most important day in human history. The Resurrection is the “Sine Qua Non” of the Christian faith, the “without which not,” meaning if you take away the Resurrection there is no reason for our faith. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians:
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”—1 Corinthians 15:13-14 (NIV)
But the message of today is that Christ has been raised. He is risen—he is risen indeed! Paul goes on to say:
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”—1 Corinthians 15:20-22 (NIV)
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, and because of that truth all will be made alive. That is what we celebrate today. The somberness of our Lenten journey gives way to a shout of victory, and the shadow of the cross gives way to the glorious light of Easter morn.
For today’s devotional we will be offering passages of Scripture followed by songs for worship and reflection. You’re invited to read each passage slowly and meditatively, paying attention to the movement of your soul. What moments in the story, or phrases from the different passages, resonate most with you? Who in the Easter story do you find yourself identifying with most? How will you choose to respond in prayer and gratitude today?
You may wish to spread out these passages and songs through the day rather than reading and listening to them all at once. However you choose to spend time with God today, we pray this Scripture and music will encourage and bless you.
We begin at the garden early in the morning, as the women make their way to the tomb, leading us into a time of worship in response to what they discovered—the stone is rolled away! The tomb is empty!
He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
“When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’
When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.
But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’”—Mark 16:1-7 (NRSV)
Is It All Over Now?
You can read the lyrics here
“So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’”—Matthew 28:8-10 (NRSV)
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
You can read the lyrics here
“Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them. But they were prevented from recognizing him. Then he asked them, ‘What is this dispute that you’re having with each other as you are walking?’ And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.
The one named Cleopas answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?’
‘What things?’ he asked them.
So they said to him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him. But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.’
He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.
They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther. But they urged him, ‘Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.
It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?’ That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those with them gathered together, who said, ‘The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”—Luke 24:13-35 (CSB)
Remembrance
You can read the lyrics here
“But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’' Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’”—John 20:24-29 (NRSV)
Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery
You can read the lyrics here
“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.”—1 Corinthians 15:50-57 (NRSV)
I Will Rise
You can read the lyrics here
“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’
Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”—Acts 2:29-36 (NIV)
Worthy is the Lamb/Crown Him with Many Crowns
The Silence of God
Holy Saturday
Today is the final day of Lent.
It is called a number of different things in various church traditions:
Holy Saturday
Great and Holy Saturday
The Great Sabbath
Hallelujah Saturday
Saturday of the Gloria
Black Saturday
Joyous Saturday
The Saturday of Light
That’s quite a range, if you think about it. What intrigues me is that, apart from “Black Saturday,” all of these titles for today have a fairly positive connotation: it’s holy, great, joyous, filled with light and hallelujahs.
I’m not necessarily one to argue with centuries of church tradition (okay, maybe I am), but that is not what the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter brings to mind for me. Every year on this day my mind wanders back to a group of friends and disciples, scattered and frightened, wondering what had just happened. The one in whom they trusted, the one they looked to as “rabbi,” the one they saw as the long-awaited Christ of God, lay dead in a tomb. Looking back, we can be tempted to shake our heads and wonder at their cluelessness. Didn’t Jesus tell them he’d be raised? Didn’t he assure them, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me” (John 16:16, NIV) in a clear promise of his resurrection? What’s their deal?
Their deal is…they’re human.
We can’t begin to imagine the shock and grief that swept over their souls as they processed what had just taken place. One of their own betrayed Jesus. Their friend and teacher was falsely accused, brutally tortured, and subjected to the most painful and humiliating death possible. Even a brief moment of hope for release was dashed when the crowd chose Barabbas over Jesus. Add to that the fear that they themselves could be next. We can’t enter into that depth of emotion 2,000 years later.
We don’t know what the disciples did on Saturday. It was the Sabbath, after all, so they probably did very little. But I can’t help but imagine…did any of them brave going outside in their grief, perhaps taking a walk to view the tomb? Probably not, given the fact that the tomb was guarded, but I know it would have been a temptation had I been there. In my grief, pain, and disappointment, I would want to go and just sit near the tomb while I poured out my anger and frustration to God. I would have so many questions:
How could you let this happen?
Was it all a lie?
What am I supposed to do now?
Where were you?
Where are you?
As I picture that garden tomb on Saturday, my heart and soul are filled with the reality that on that particular day the answers would not be found. On that day the questions would most likely be met by a resounding silence. Yes, on the next day it would be broken, but for now…it is silence.
We may not be able to enter into the hearts and minds of the disciples on that day, but we do know that silence. Any Christian who says they have not at one time or another wrestled with the sense that God is silent is not being completely honest with themselves. We all have seasons where the questions echo in what seems to be empty space. It’s not empty, but in that moment it most decidedly seems so.
The mystery of God’s silence is a good one to sit with on this day. As we sit with that mystery, we can identify with Christ’s disciples, if only in a small way. And we can pray for all those who are sitting with that silence in a very real way right now. If it were up to me, this day would be called “Silent Saturday,” which in itself is an invitation.
Tomorrow that silence will give way to a resounding “Hallelujah,” but for today…let’s remember that this, too, is holy ground.
And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) Have you had seasons of your life when God has seemed silent? Offer to God your own “Silent Saturdays” and your willingness to sit in that mystery.
2) Read and ponder this quote from Oswald Chambers. Do you find yourself in agreement with what he says, or do you want to push back? Why?
“When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him— He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes.”—Oswald Chamber, My Utmost for His Highest (Oct. 11)
3) How do you think you would have spent that Saturday so long ago if you were one of Jesus’ followers? What emotions would sit at the forefront of your soul? How does imagining their experience help us prepare for our Easter celebration?
4) What do you think the songwriter meant by these lyrics?
So when the questions dissolve
Into the silence of God
The aching may remain
But the breaking does not
5) Read and reflect on this verse as you sit in the silence of this day. Let it lead you into prayerful preparation for what tomorrow holds.
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.”—Psalm 13 (NIV)
Were You There
Good Friday
What words are sufficient for this day? What can possibly be said in response to the cross of Christ? Preachers have proclaimed its power, theologians have debated its meaning, artists have represented its mystery, and disciples have abided in its sufficiency for almost 2000 years, and yet we have only scratched the surface of everything the cross represents.
We do not undertake a Lenten journey in order to study, even though study can be part of our journey. We make our way through these 40 days so that we might enter into the truth and reality of what God has done for us. We walk with Jesus in order to know him better, and to better know the depth of his sacrifice for us. A Lenten journey is experiential. It is surrendering ourselves to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, inviting him to impart deeper and deeper levels of understanding of what took place at Calvary.
And now we have arrived. We have come to the darkest day in humanity’s history, as the Son of God willingly offers himself up to death on our behalf.
What can we say?
One thing we can offer is a request: “Lord, let me not avert my eyes,” for the temptation to do that is strong. We don’t want to watch. It’s too much. If we want to finish our Lenten journey in a way that honors every other step we’ve taken with Jesus along the path to Jerusalem, we need to take the final step and confront the cruelty, the pain, the suffering, and ultimately the majesty of the cross. It is God’s greatest declaration of love, and we stand in awe.
Or as the spiritual puts it, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble.”
As well it should. And so the invitation today is to embrace the trembling reality of the cross, for only there can we begin to grasp the breathtaking reality of God’s love. We may not have been there, but we can still linger there as we mark this holiest of days.
“This is love:
not that we loved God,
but that he loved us
and sent his Son
as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
--1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Praying at the Foot of the Cross
For our reflection today, you are invited to enter into a spiritual discipline called “Praying With Imagination.” It is an ancient practice that invites us into a Scripture text in a way that engages our whole being: soul, mind, and spirit. It is a powerful reminder that the word of God is “living and active” (Heb. 4:12), as we prayerfully imagine that we are right in the midst of it.
In the novel Sensible Shoes, retreat leader Katherine Rhodes gives very simple instructions for praying with imagination:
Listen to the story.
Imagine you are there.
What do you see? Hear? Feel?
Where are you in the story?
Then talk to God about whatever you notice.
Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to let this story from the Scriptures come alive for you in a new way. Then read the story out loud, slowly, perhaps a couple of times. After reading it, sit with the questions, and finish by talking to God about what you notice. You might want to consider having a journal handy to record your reflections and reactions. After the text below you will find a closing prayer for Good Friday.
Our text is the Good Friday story from the gospel of Luke 23:33-49:
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
A Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, you carried our sins in your own body on the tree,
You came so that we might have life.
May we and all who remember this day find new life in you,
Now and in the world to come,
Where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Stay With Me Here
Maundy Thursday
It is the night before Jesus’ death. A time for one final meal, one last celebration of the Passover with his closest friends. As he serves the meal, Jesus gives it new meaning that has been central to Christian worship ever since:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”—Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV)
Jesus has already given his disciples a powerful image of his servant nature when he washed their feet, including the feet of his betrayer. Now he gives them an image of his sacrifice, the breaking of his body and the pouring out his blood for the sins of the world. Jesus the Passover Lamb teaches them how his death will bring forgiveness and life, and then he makes a sobering declaration:
“I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”—Matthew 26:29 (NIV)
Jesus knows this is the last time he will sit at this table with his disciples, and even though there is a promise of a new table in a new kingdom one day, it does not diminish the sadness of this moment, a sadness that will reach further depths in what happens next.
After the meal, Jesus and his disciples make their way to Gethsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. He takes Peter, James, and John with him to a secluded place in the garden and makes clear what is on his heart in this moment:
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”—Matthew 26:38 (NIV)
It is a difficult thing to imagine, the Son of God being sorrowful “to the point of death.” But Jesus is fully human, and as much as he knows the importance of what is about to happen, as much as he knows that it will not end with his death…the enormity of it all seems too much to bear. And what is it that he asks in this heartrending moment?
He asks his friends to stay with him and keep watch with him while he prays.
Much has been made through the centuries of the failure of Peter, James, and John to stay awake and do what Jesus has asked. It is incredibly sad that Jesus has to face that night alone, and I can only assume that the disciples (as usual) simply don’t understand the significance of what is taking place.
But we do.
And on this night when we remember Jesus in the garden, we are invited to stay with him and keep watch with him. Perhaps the best way to mark this Holy Thursday is to simply sit with Jesus and pray. Author and speaker Kathy Howard shares this beautiful insight about our invitation on this night:
“As I think about His solitude in that garden, I am reminded to pray for all of those who are sitting up in their own Garden of Gethsemane tonight. I think of anxious hearts that feel all alone while the rest of the world is sleeping away…Tonight, as I reread the final earthly prayer of Jesus, my soul needs to keep watch, as if to give to Him this small gesture of love.”—Kathy Howard
We may not have the opportunity to sit with Jesus in his sorrow, but as we remember the meaning of his death, we can sit with him in the sorrow of the world he came to save. In a small gesture of love we can keep watch with him as he watches over all those who know their own agony tonight, and we can know with certainty what John describes with heartbreaking detail:
Jesus knows our pain, for he has felt it fully.
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
To the point of death
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow
Stay with Me here
Stay with Me here
Stay with Me
And keep watch with Me
Stay with Me here
And keep watch with Me
Stay and Keep Watch With Jesus
Today you are invited to sit in prayer as we prepare for the remembrance of Good Friday. Use this time to pray for yourself, for your friends and loved ones, for your church and the larger church, and for the needs of the world. Sit in silence, sit with Scripture, sit with favorite music or hymns…however you can best “keep watch” with Jesus on this final day before his death. Here is a beautiful prayer from the Transforming Center to use as you begin:
Lord Jesus Christ, prepare our hearts to walk with you the rest of the way this Holy Week.
Help us to find ourselves in this part of your story and not run from the pain and the unanswerable questions contained within it.
Draw us to sit with you at the Last Supper where you shared your heart so tenderly with your friends and also faced your betrayer honestly and without malice.
Help us to stay awake in the Garden of that Dark Night, wrestling with the death and dying that must take place in order for your will to come forth.
Give us the wisdom to know, as you did, when it is time to lay down our life so that some day we can take it up again.
Give us the grace to endure the pain of witnessing your humiliation and rejection so that we can more gracefully endure our own.
Help us to be as gut-wrenchingly honest as you were when you cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Grant us the courage to let go when it is time. Grant us the patience to wait with you in the silence of death until you call forth the resurrection.
Amen.
Creed
Wednesday of Holy Week
There is great power in speaking truth.
The Apostle Paul references the act of “speaking truth” in a well-known passage from Ephesians:
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”—Ephesians 4:14-16 (NIV)
The phrase “speaking the truth in love” has taken on a very specific meaning in the lives of churches and individual Christians. It is usually used in the context of corrective speech, as in “I need to tell you something…in love.” We reference it when we have something unpleasant to say to another person and we want to make sure they know our motivations are not harmful, but rooted in love.
Though that is a good principle to derive from this passage, Paul is talking about so much more. He says these words in the context of a teaching about Christian maturity, encouraging members of the church to use their spiritual gifts to build one another up “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13, NIV) That includes honest and loving speech, but it’s more about the transformative power of truth. Not just the hard truth of personal censure, but the truth of the whole gospel—truth about who God is and what he has done for us in Christ.
Paul wasn’t merely giving us a guide for correcting one another. He was telling us to speak the truth of the gospel over one another’s lives in such a way that we grow deeply in faith. We can do this by sharing Scripture with each other, or even through just a simple statement of divine truth:
You are loved
You are forgiven
God is able
God is with you
Statements of truth, whether simple or profound, are needed in the life of faith. In the ancient church, when it was vitally important to define what truths sat at the center of Christianity, they developed what we call “creeds.” A creed is a declarative statement of biblical truth, put together in a way that believers may easily remember and recite. They have no divine power on their own, but reflect the power of God’s truth as revealed in Scripture and ultimately in Jesus. They tell the story of who God is and what God has done, and they remind us that we are part of a much larger plan and story.
Not every church uses creeds, but I have found through the years they can be very helpful tools for study, personal devotion, and worship. The song for today is based on the Apostles’ Creed, one of the oldest statements of belief in the Christian church. It was originally written in Latin, and there are a few different translations available. Whichever one you use, it can be a fruitful experience to simply sit and meditate on the truths it affirms. It is a powerful experience to declare these truths over our lives:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended into hades;
the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
the holy Christian Church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting. Amen.
(for a brief video teaching on the Apostles’ Creed click here)
(for a downloadable version w/scriptural references click here)
Tomorrow the journey to the cross takes a crucial turn. Events are set in motion on Thursday of Holy Week that lead quickly to Christ’s arrest, torture, and execution. As we prepare our hearts and minds to sit with this, the central event of our faith, it is good to sit with the central truths of our faith. Using an ancient creed can be a very moving way to do that. It reminds us that we are joining our voices with countless saints of old who also used these words to declare what they believe.
It is a way of speaking truth, and there is great power in speaking truth.
And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection:
1) Reading the Apostles’ Creed prayerfully can be a powerful and moving experience. Read the creed slowly, one line at a time, stopping to sit with the truth each line proclaims, letting these words take root deep in your soul.
2) Here are links to some passages that many consider to be “credal” in nature. What important truths do they communicate to you? How might you build these truths into your devotional life on a regular basis, drawing strength from what they declare?
3) Reflect on these lyrics from the song. How do they resonate with you? What do they say about the truths expressed in the creed?
I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it, no it is making me
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man
4) Read and reflect on these verses. Some think they may be the very first creed. Let these words lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance:
that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”—1 Corinthians 15:3-5 (NIV)
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Tuesday of Holy Week
Yes, you read that correctly. Today’s song is “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” Why a Christmas hymn in the middle of holy week? It has to do with the sermon Jesus preaches after arriving in Jerusalem for the Passover.
It’s understood that the Olivet Discourse, a teaching by Jesus found in Matthew 24 and 25, was preached on the Tuesday of Holy Week from the Mount of Olives, found just east of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It is not an easy teaching by any means, which is consistent with the mood of the week. Jesus has already spent time in Jerusalem sharing lessons and parables about the kingdom while enduring the schemes and traps of the religious leaders, who want to trip him up and create an excuse to have him arrested. Jesus cleverly evades their theological machinations and turns the tables on them, confronting those entrusted to care for Israel with their own hypocrisy, wickedness, and spiritual blindness. After one such encounter, Jesus leaves the temple grounds with his disciples and remarks that the temple itself will one day be razed to the ground. After they arrive at the Mount of Olives, his disciples ask him, “When? When will these things happen? What signs should we be looking for?
Jesus’ answer to their question becomes the Olivet Discourse.
The picture of the end times that Jesus paints in Matthew 24 and 25 is one that has been debated by theologians time and again, and will be until the words in those passages come to pass. It isn’t fruitful, especially during Holy Week, to get too distracted by the desire to “figure it out.” What is helpful is to draw from it some simple, yet important, spiritual truths and principles:
Jesus will return.
Nobody knows when Jesus will return except God himself.
The days leading up to his return will be fraught with chaos, in both the spiritual and natural realms.
His return will bring a revelation of each person’s soul.
The people of God, while they wait for his return, should be wise and expectant.
Jesus thought it important to share this teaching with his disciples in the days leading up to his crucifixion, so it makes sense for us to ponder it as well as we journey through Holy Week.
But why a Christmas hymn?
“Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” is indeed a song for the Christmas season, but, like so many of our reflections on the coming of Jesus at the nativity, it also points us to his second coming. The language of the hymn is filled with wonderful and significant kingdom language for us to ponder as Easter approaches. It reminds us that Jesus is:
—The one who has come to set us free from fear and sin
—Our deliverer and desire
—Our strength, consolation, hope, and joy
—The one who rules in our hearts
—The King who brings in his gracious kingdom
—The one who will one day raise us to his glorious throne
So as we look ahead to the cross outside Jerusalem, we are also invited to look back to the stable in Bethlehem. This is why Jesus came to earth, why the one…
“…who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.”—Philippians 2:6-8 (NRSV)
It is good to reflect on the whole scope of Jesus’ mission as we approach its climactic point. And it is also good to remember that there is a greater fulfillment of the mission that is yet to come:
“Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”—Philippians 2:9-11 (NRSV)
Until that day when every knee bows and every tongue confesses, we heed the words of Christ to be diligent and good stewards of our time and kingdom resources. And we also heed his call to “keep watch,” singing “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus!”
Born thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a king
Born to reign in us forever
Now thy gracious kingdom bring
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Here are some other versions of the hymn with different musical styles:
Laura Story (upbeat worship, with added chorus)
Fernando Ortega (simple vocal and accompaniment)
City Church (acoustic worship band, with added verse)
Chris Tomlin & Christy Nockels (a cappella vocal with choir)
Questions for Reflection:
1) How does looking back on the nativity impact your reflections during Holy Week? Spend some time sitting with the wonder of the incarnation, knowing that the baby in the manger is now the man on the cross, offering his life for you.
2) Which of these descriptions of Jesus from the hymn speaks most to you today? Why?
—The one who has come to set us free from fear and sin
—Our deliverer and desire
—Our strength, consolation, hope, and joy
—The one who rules in our hearts
—The King who brings in his gracious kingdom
—The one who will one day raise us to his glorious throne
3) Jesus says of his return, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt. 24:36, ESV) If we are not meant to know, why do you think so many followers of Jesus become so concerned with figuring it out? How comfortable are you living with the mystery?
4) From what “fears and sins” do you most need to be released? Spend some time with God being honest about them, and find rest in the one who is the “hope of all the earth.”
5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Thessalonians 5:23 (ESV)