The Resurrection Of Our Lord (Easter Day)
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 10:34-43 (C, E); Acts 10:34, 37-43 (RC)
Peter preaches to the people that all people, no matter their nationality, no matter their ethnic origin, all who fear (love) Jesus and do what is right are acceptable to him. Peter then retells the story of Jesus' unblemished life, of the marvelous deeds he performed, how he, Peter, and some of his friends have been witnesses to all that Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem. He tells how Jesus was executed, then reappeared to certain chosen people, and dined with some. Thus, the expectations of the prophets were fulfilled in Jesus the Christ, and all who believe will be forgiven.
This pretty much summarizes the Christian faith as we understand it. Most of the elements are there. The gospel is universal. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophetic preaching. His ministry was one of great deeds with no sin. He was killed by his enemies, rose from death. He made himself known as the risen One. He forgives the sins of all who believe.
Lesson 2: Colossians 3:1-4 (C, RC, E)
Paul affirms the baptismal faith. We are welcomed into new life where Christ is "seated at the right hand of God," no doubt a figure of speech by which Paul meant to affirm the primacy of Jesus in the Kingdom of God. We are urged to focus life's emphasis on the right and good things of life, turning away from all the earthly concerns which divert us from what is best. If we do this, we shall be revealed along with Christ in glory.
This is certainly an idealized set of instructions. It's another case of an impossible ethic set before us, not, I would think, that Paul seriously expected many of us to comply, but to remind us of the highest possible goal to which we might strive. I was once an idealist as I came into the Christian faith. I initially had it in mind that those mentors whose preaching and teaching meant so much to me were men of near-perfect character. I still love them dearly, but I soon learned they have their so-called feet of clay like the rest of humankind. I since have numbered many servants of the church among my friends, but have known very few such saints as Paul described. In truth, I have found comfort in this, because of what I know of myself. God builds with broken bricks. The Church has long survived and flourished in the care of sinful men and women. If therein lies our sin, therein too lies our hope.
Gospel: John 20:1-18 (C); John 20:1-9 (RC); John 20:1-10 (11-18) (E)
This version of Easter morn is excitingly detailed in describing the initial events around the tomb. Peter and another disciple, having heard the news that the tomb has been found empty, dash there to see the cloths with which the body was, by tradition, bound lying neatly on the ground. The first portion of the passage concludes rather curiously by noting that the disciples then returned to their homes.
Mary Magdalene, whose life story must have been remarkable, is there. Grieving, she encounters two figures dressed in white whom she takes to be angels. Their queries also seem strange. "Woman, why are you weeping?" Strange, since the answer must have been obvious. "Whom are you looking for?" One doesn't ordinarily wander into a tomb looking for just anyone. Either these angels had their minds on other things or, more likely, there's a lot to this story that wasn't recorded. In any event, another figure appears whom Mary presumes to be the gardener. It is, in fact, Jesus, and when she hears his voice she recognizes him. Jesus quickly warns her not to delay him as he has not yet gone to his destination. She is to inform the disciples that she has seen Jesus and been told that he would soon be ascending to the Father.
This passage has the ring of truth, partly because of the unanswered questions it poses. Why did the disciples head for home, rather than getting together to celebrate? Why did the angels ask such obvious questions? Were they, in fact, angels? Many mainline Protestant churches are not enthusiastic believers in the idea of angels at all. Why didn't Mary recognize Jesus? There may be simple answers to these questions, but the fact that John was not concerned for such matters does, in fact, make him believable.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "New Life Before You"
Text: Acts 10:34-43
Theme: Peter himself, as spokesman of this passage, personifies the promise of which he speaks. Recall that Peter was very recently a frightened man in the courtyard as Jesus was being interrogated. When accused of being a henchman of Jesus, Peter loudly denounced Jesus. Tradition tells that as Peter cried out his final denunciation, he looked up and saw Jesus standing on a balcony above his head, looking down at the man whose words he had just heard. It is reported that Peter then dashed into the darkness, overwhelmed with shame.
Now, days later, we find Peter unapologetically declaring the heart of our faith. Emerson once said something like this: "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say." But we soon learned that Peter was indeed a changed man. He had accepted forgiveness, knew now what his life was about, and would in due time suffer the death from which he had run. So Peter himself verifies the truth of what he says.
1. Faith is universal. It is for any person who loves Jesus. The Bible uses the word "fear," but that is an ancient usage for the qualities of admiration, devotion, and love. (You can't love someone if you're afraid of that person.)
2. Faith brings peace. It was "the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ ..." of which Peter spoke. It seems that "peace" is not the absence of stress or conflict. Peter was to face plenty of that. Peace of mind in the biblical sense is assurance, the realization that in the end nothing can overcome us.
3. Faith brings forgiveness. This, through "the power of his name." Peter is the example. How he was transformed from a frightened fisherman to a heroic preacher of a message which could lead to one's imprisonment and death (as it did for Peter and Paul), because his sins were forgiven. That doesn't mean a divine "That's okay, Peter, I forgive you." It's much more powerful. It means God says, "Peter, you are a new man now. You are set free from your confining little fears and temptations. A whole new life I now open before you." That's the message -- for Peter, and for us.
Title: "The Most Important Thing Of All"
Text: Colossians 3:1-4
Theme: Yes, this is an impossible ethic. Some of my clergy friends, some whom I admire very much, love such things as nice cars, vacations at the beach, good restaurants. I once sat as a panelist on a television show, along with a well-known clergyman of a very conservative religious group. He made impressive points about the need to serve Jesus. I, admittedly somewhat self-righteously, remarked how easy it was to become enamored of the things of the world, and used the example of expensive shoes and new Cadillacs. As he and I walked out to the parking lot, I happened to notice he was wearing very expensive alligator shoes. He seemed to wait until I was some distance ahead before going to his car, but I looked back and saw it was a new Cadillac. True.
I wouldn't quarrel with that gentleman's right to wear what he wants and drive what he wants. I only submit that the most sincere among us will be doing well if we at least aspire to set our hearts "on the things that are in heaven," and "not on the things here on earth." After all, God put us here and made us creatures of the earth.
1. We are to acquaint ourselves with "things that are in heaven."
2. The "things here on earth" are part of God's creation. We have no choice but to focus most of our attention on them, if by "things here on earth" we mean housing, food and clothing, transportation, and the like. We all know people who work long, demanding hours to provide a happy life for themselves and their loved ones, and there is no sin in that. But these things are to be won by the rules of life set down by the standards of the "things that are in heaven." That is, we are to win our daily needs with integrity and concern for other people.
3. If it's true that most of our energy and effort must be devoted to work and the acquisition of the basics of life, it's also true that there must be time for, and energy devoted to, our worship and our prayer life. The healthy-minded Christian is the one who can creatively balance this life on this earth, with all of its earthly requirements and challenges, with the "things that are in heaven." One must never forget that for all the wonderful aspects of life upon this earth, "Your real life is Christ."
Title: "Brokenness Restored"
Text: John 20:1
Theme: The other day I watched from a fifth-floor window as seven or eight small children searched for Easter eggs, hidden there by what appeared to be a couple sets of grandparents. Such happy shouts, such delighted elders, such sheer abandoned joy one rarely sees. I'm of that clergy generation which has been known to sneer at such goings-on. What a trivial view of Easter, the purists like to say. You're turning Christianity's most profound holy day into something out of Walt Disney World, they would snort. Easter is serious business. So would say some of my more serious-minded colleagues. I thought of all of that, all that seminary seriousness, as I watched. But I was watching the reign of love and joy. Of course Easter is serious. But Jesus told us that unless we can become as children, we can't truly enter the Kingdom. Lighten up, I told myself. Easter is the triumph of joy over hatred and grim mirthlessness. Those little kids were associating that holy day with feelings of gratitude, and love, and sunshine in the heart. It was good. As I watched, I felt more inner warmth than is generated by half the sermons.
Having delivered myself of a bit of pique about the solemnity which characterizes much of Christian worship, let me share what Easter has come to mean to me and what the Bible seems to me to promise.
1. God revealed the power and the willingness to restore what is broken. My dear wife died in a car crash just as my only daughter was to leave for college. My life was shattered. I could not ever again feel sunshine within. As I wept, and swore at God, and decried the whole world's insensitivity to the fact that the most important event in history had just occurred, I knew there could never be happiness again. Some years passed. When my anger subsided, I resumed my prayer life. In due time, I met a wonderful, beautiful woman. We married, and I have two angel-teenagers. My life is forever happy with them. I look back and see that God, though unable to prevent a tragedy, brought new and wonderful life back into my life. Those with eyes to see will see this miracle all around us.
2. God will be able to heal and redeem our society. Do you remember the story of Gideon in the book of Judges? The Midianites had dominated the Israelites, and God called this lonely young man to defeat them. Anyone who fears that a few devout Christians can never overcome the thieves and druggies and corrupt public figures should go back and read that story. It's in the sixth chapter of Judges, how Gideon sent all but 300 of his 32,000 soldiers back home. Those 300 were armed with conviction and faith. The advancing Midianites had camels as numerous as grains of sand upon the desert. But that small remnant whipped them good. The story, told in more detail, is a powerful example of the fact that a few people who believe, and who remain faithful, can defeat many times their number.
3. Eternal Life is not simply a quiet life in heaven. I don't want to, as one old song has it, "roll around heaven all day." I think of it as a land of beginning again. A place where maybe the things I did wrong in this life can be amended. I have told elsewhere of the time my father saw me off to war, and I left his presence with barely a handshake, anxious to join my army buddies. I wasn't to see my dad for nearly two years, and I still see him, forlorn, alone, watching his eldest son head off to the worst fighting of World War II. How I would like to tell him how sorry I am, how much I love him. Do you feel that sometimes? I hope Heaven is a new state in which we can love as we failed to do in this life, and in which we can accept love from others without discomfort and rejection.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
The following letter was written to her son by Marian Wright Edelman. "Have you ever noticed how one example, good or bad, can prompt others to follow? How one illegally parked car can give permission to others to do likewise? How one racial joke can fuel another? How one sour person can dampen a meeting, or one complainer sap positive energy? Well, the converse is also true. One or a few positive people can set the tone in an office, or a congregation, or a school. Just doing the right and decent thing can set the pace for others to follow in all kinds of settings. America is in urgent need of a band of moral guerrillas who simply decide to do what appears to be right, heedless of the immediate consequences. As one leader said, the world needs more men and women who do not have a price at which they can be bought, who do not borrow from integrity to pay for expediency, whose handshake is an ironclad contract, who are not afraid of risk, who are honest in small matters as they are in large ones, whose ambitions are big enough to include others, who know how to win with grace, and lose with dignity, who do not believe that shrewdness, and cunning, and ruthlessness are the three keys to success, who still have friends they made twenty years ago, who are not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion, who do not believe in consensus, who are occasionally wrong and always willing to admit it. In short, the world needs leaders." (The remnant, the small minority who can change things.)
____________
Last year while on a visit to Florida, I watched a news program which reported about a woman who had killed a man with her car. Witnesses said that after hitting the man, she stopped, got out of the car, looked at him, then got back in her car and quickly drove away. The man died shortly thereafter. When the woman was finally apprehended, authorities learned that just prior to the accident she had just left an evangelistic meeting of her church. Not everyone who goes to church is a practicing Christian.
____________
Years ago, in the highlands of Scotland, an old inn was remodeled, and several patrons from surrounding communities were invited to attend a gala party to celebrate the new-old inn. It was quite a party, according to reports. One young man, showing off, shook a carbonated drink, then sought to shower a friend with the resultant spray. The unhappy result was that the spray hit a recently decorated wall, ruining the brand-new wallpaper. Suddenly, everyone was quiet. Their host, who had invested his savings to restore the inn, stood in quiet shock. But one young man left the room, and returned a few minutes later with a case containing art supplies. After eying the dark splotches on the ruined wall, he began to draw. One dark spot became a boulder. Another took on the form of a highland stream over which a giant stag was seen to leap. After an hour of deft creation, the damaged wall now featured a marvelous highland scene. It seems that guest was Sir Edwin Landseer, Scotland's premier landscape artist. Because of his rare genius he was able to transform something ruined and ugly into a scene of rare beauty. And the old inn became famous.
____________
"Defeat may serve as well as victory
To shake the soul and let the glory out.
When the great oak is straining in the wind,
The boughs drink in new beauty, and the trunk
Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come
To stretch our spaces in the heart for joy."
-- Edwin Markham
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 118 (C, E) -- Thanksgiving for God's repeated deliverance.
Prayer Of The Day
Bright day, inward warmth, love set free, quickened life, joyous laughs, quiet touch: Easter morn. Thank you. Amen.
Lesson 1: Acts 10:34-43 (C, E); Acts 10:34, 37-43 (RC)
Peter preaches to the people that all people, no matter their nationality, no matter their ethnic origin, all who fear (love) Jesus and do what is right are acceptable to him. Peter then retells the story of Jesus' unblemished life, of the marvelous deeds he performed, how he, Peter, and some of his friends have been witnesses to all that Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem. He tells how Jesus was executed, then reappeared to certain chosen people, and dined with some. Thus, the expectations of the prophets were fulfilled in Jesus the Christ, and all who believe will be forgiven.
This pretty much summarizes the Christian faith as we understand it. Most of the elements are there. The gospel is universal. Jesus is the fulfillment of prophetic preaching. His ministry was one of great deeds with no sin. He was killed by his enemies, rose from death. He made himself known as the risen One. He forgives the sins of all who believe.
Lesson 2: Colossians 3:1-4 (C, RC, E)
Paul affirms the baptismal faith. We are welcomed into new life where Christ is "seated at the right hand of God," no doubt a figure of speech by which Paul meant to affirm the primacy of Jesus in the Kingdom of God. We are urged to focus life's emphasis on the right and good things of life, turning away from all the earthly concerns which divert us from what is best. If we do this, we shall be revealed along with Christ in glory.
This is certainly an idealized set of instructions. It's another case of an impossible ethic set before us, not, I would think, that Paul seriously expected many of us to comply, but to remind us of the highest possible goal to which we might strive. I was once an idealist as I came into the Christian faith. I initially had it in mind that those mentors whose preaching and teaching meant so much to me were men of near-perfect character. I still love them dearly, but I soon learned they have their so-called feet of clay like the rest of humankind. I since have numbered many servants of the church among my friends, but have known very few such saints as Paul described. In truth, I have found comfort in this, because of what I know of myself. God builds with broken bricks. The Church has long survived and flourished in the care of sinful men and women. If therein lies our sin, therein too lies our hope.
Gospel: John 20:1-18 (C); John 20:1-9 (RC); John 20:1-10 (11-18) (E)
This version of Easter morn is excitingly detailed in describing the initial events around the tomb. Peter and another disciple, having heard the news that the tomb has been found empty, dash there to see the cloths with which the body was, by tradition, bound lying neatly on the ground. The first portion of the passage concludes rather curiously by noting that the disciples then returned to their homes.
Mary Magdalene, whose life story must have been remarkable, is there. Grieving, she encounters two figures dressed in white whom she takes to be angels. Their queries also seem strange. "Woman, why are you weeping?" Strange, since the answer must have been obvious. "Whom are you looking for?" One doesn't ordinarily wander into a tomb looking for just anyone. Either these angels had their minds on other things or, more likely, there's a lot to this story that wasn't recorded. In any event, another figure appears whom Mary presumes to be the gardener. It is, in fact, Jesus, and when she hears his voice she recognizes him. Jesus quickly warns her not to delay him as he has not yet gone to his destination. She is to inform the disciples that she has seen Jesus and been told that he would soon be ascending to the Father.
This passage has the ring of truth, partly because of the unanswered questions it poses. Why did the disciples head for home, rather than getting together to celebrate? Why did the angels ask such obvious questions? Were they, in fact, angels? Many mainline Protestant churches are not enthusiastic believers in the idea of angels at all. Why didn't Mary recognize Jesus? There may be simple answers to these questions, but the fact that John was not concerned for such matters does, in fact, make him believable.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "New Life Before You"
Text: Acts 10:34-43
Theme: Peter himself, as spokesman of this passage, personifies the promise of which he speaks. Recall that Peter was very recently a frightened man in the courtyard as Jesus was being interrogated. When accused of being a henchman of Jesus, Peter loudly denounced Jesus. Tradition tells that as Peter cried out his final denunciation, he looked up and saw Jesus standing on a balcony above his head, looking down at the man whose words he had just heard. It is reported that Peter then dashed into the darkness, overwhelmed with shame.
Now, days later, we find Peter unapologetically declaring the heart of our faith. Emerson once said something like this: "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say." But we soon learned that Peter was indeed a changed man. He had accepted forgiveness, knew now what his life was about, and would in due time suffer the death from which he had run. So Peter himself verifies the truth of what he says.
1. Faith is universal. It is for any person who loves Jesus. The Bible uses the word "fear," but that is an ancient usage for the qualities of admiration, devotion, and love. (You can't love someone if you're afraid of that person.)
2. Faith brings peace. It was "the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ ..." of which Peter spoke. It seems that "peace" is not the absence of stress or conflict. Peter was to face plenty of that. Peace of mind in the biblical sense is assurance, the realization that in the end nothing can overcome us.
3. Faith brings forgiveness. This, through "the power of his name." Peter is the example. How he was transformed from a frightened fisherman to a heroic preacher of a message which could lead to one's imprisonment and death (as it did for Peter and Paul), because his sins were forgiven. That doesn't mean a divine "That's okay, Peter, I forgive you." It's much more powerful. It means God says, "Peter, you are a new man now. You are set free from your confining little fears and temptations. A whole new life I now open before you." That's the message -- for Peter, and for us.
Title: "The Most Important Thing Of All"
Text: Colossians 3:1-4
Theme: Yes, this is an impossible ethic. Some of my clergy friends, some whom I admire very much, love such things as nice cars, vacations at the beach, good restaurants. I once sat as a panelist on a television show, along with a well-known clergyman of a very conservative religious group. He made impressive points about the need to serve Jesus. I, admittedly somewhat self-righteously, remarked how easy it was to become enamored of the things of the world, and used the example of expensive shoes and new Cadillacs. As he and I walked out to the parking lot, I happened to notice he was wearing very expensive alligator shoes. He seemed to wait until I was some distance ahead before going to his car, but I looked back and saw it was a new Cadillac. True.
I wouldn't quarrel with that gentleman's right to wear what he wants and drive what he wants. I only submit that the most sincere among us will be doing well if we at least aspire to set our hearts "on the things that are in heaven," and "not on the things here on earth." After all, God put us here and made us creatures of the earth.
1. We are to acquaint ourselves with "things that are in heaven."
2. The "things here on earth" are part of God's creation. We have no choice but to focus most of our attention on them, if by "things here on earth" we mean housing, food and clothing, transportation, and the like. We all know people who work long, demanding hours to provide a happy life for themselves and their loved ones, and there is no sin in that. But these things are to be won by the rules of life set down by the standards of the "things that are in heaven." That is, we are to win our daily needs with integrity and concern for other people.
3. If it's true that most of our energy and effort must be devoted to work and the acquisition of the basics of life, it's also true that there must be time for, and energy devoted to, our worship and our prayer life. The healthy-minded Christian is the one who can creatively balance this life on this earth, with all of its earthly requirements and challenges, with the "things that are in heaven." One must never forget that for all the wonderful aspects of life upon this earth, "Your real life is Christ."
Title: "Brokenness Restored"
Text: John 20:1
Theme: The other day I watched from a fifth-floor window as seven or eight small children searched for Easter eggs, hidden there by what appeared to be a couple sets of grandparents. Such happy shouts, such delighted elders, such sheer abandoned joy one rarely sees. I'm of that clergy generation which has been known to sneer at such goings-on. What a trivial view of Easter, the purists like to say. You're turning Christianity's most profound holy day into something out of Walt Disney World, they would snort. Easter is serious business. So would say some of my more serious-minded colleagues. I thought of all of that, all that seminary seriousness, as I watched. But I was watching the reign of love and joy. Of course Easter is serious. But Jesus told us that unless we can become as children, we can't truly enter the Kingdom. Lighten up, I told myself. Easter is the triumph of joy over hatred and grim mirthlessness. Those little kids were associating that holy day with feelings of gratitude, and love, and sunshine in the heart. It was good. As I watched, I felt more inner warmth than is generated by half the sermons.
Having delivered myself of a bit of pique about the solemnity which characterizes much of Christian worship, let me share what Easter has come to mean to me and what the Bible seems to me to promise.
1. God revealed the power and the willingness to restore what is broken. My dear wife died in a car crash just as my only daughter was to leave for college. My life was shattered. I could not ever again feel sunshine within. As I wept, and swore at God, and decried the whole world's insensitivity to the fact that the most important event in history had just occurred, I knew there could never be happiness again. Some years passed. When my anger subsided, I resumed my prayer life. In due time, I met a wonderful, beautiful woman. We married, and I have two angel-teenagers. My life is forever happy with them. I look back and see that God, though unable to prevent a tragedy, brought new and wonderful life back into my life. Those with eyes to see will see this miracle all around us.
2. God will be able to heal and redeem our society. Do you remember the story of Gideon in the book of Judges? The Midianites had dominated the Israelites, and God called this lonely young man to defeat them. Anyone who fears that a few devout Christians can never overcome the thieves and druggies and corrupt public figures should go back and read that story. It's in the sixth chapter of Judges, how Gideon sent all but 300 of his 32,000 soldiers back home. Those 300 were armed with conviction and faith. The advancing Midianites had camels as numerous as grains of sand upon the desert. But that small remnant whipped them good. The story, told in more detail, is a powerful example of the fact that a few people who believe, and who remain faithful, can defeat many times their number.
3. Eternal Life is not simply a quiet life in heaven. I don't want to, as one old song has it, "roll around heaven all day." I think of it as a land of beginning again. A place where maybe the things I did wrong in this life can be amended. I have told elsewhere of the time my father saw me off to war, and I left his presence with barely a handshake, anxious to join my army buddies. I wasn't to see my dad for nearly two years, and I still see him, forlorn, alone, watching his eldest son head off to the worst fighting of World War II. How I would like to tell him how sorry I am, how much I love him. Do you feel that sometimes? I hope Heaven is a new state in which we can love as we failed to do in this life, and in which we can accept love from others without discomfort and rejection.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
The following letter was written to her son by Marian Wright Edelman. "Have you ever noticed how one example, good or bad, can prompt others to follow? How one illegally parked car can give permission to others to do likewise? How one racial joke can fuel another? How one sour person can dampen a meeting, or one complainer sap positive energy? Well, the converse is also true. One or a few positive people can set the tone in an office, or a congregation, or a school. Just doing the right and decent thing can set the pace for others to follow in all kinds of settings. America is in urgent need of a band of moral guerrillas who simply decide to do what appears to be right, heedless of the immediate consequences. As one leader said, the world needs more men and women who do not have a price at which they can be bought, who do not borrow from integrity to pay for expediency, whose handshake is an ironclad contract, who are not afraid of risk, who are honest in small matters as they are in large ones, whose ambitions are big enough to include others, who know how to win with grace, and lose with dignity, who do not believe that shrewdness, and cunning, and ruthlessness are the three keys to success, who still have friends they made twenty years ago, who are not afraid to go against the grain of popular opinion, who do not believe in consensus, who are occasionally wrong and always willing to admit it. In short, the world needs leaders." (The remnant, the small minority who can change things.)
____________
Last year while on a visit to Florida, I watched a news program which reported about a woman who had killed a man with her car. Witnesses said that after hitting the man, she stopped, got out of the car, looked at him, then got back in her car and quickly drove away. The man died shortly thereafter. When the woman was finally apprehended, authorities learned that just prior to the accident she had just left an evangelistic meeting of her church. Not everyone who goes to church is a practicing Christian.
____________
Years ago, in the highlands of Scotland, an old inn was remodeled, and several patrons from surrounding communities were invited to attend a gala party to celebrate the new-old inn. It was quite a party, according to reports. One young man, showing off, shook a carbonated drink, then sought to shower a friend with the resultant spray. The unhappy result was that the spray hit a recently decorated wall, ruining the brand-new wallpaper. Suddenly, everyone was quiet. Their host, who had invested his savings to restore the inn, stood in quiet shock. But one young man left the room, and returned a few minutes later with a case containing art supplies. After eying the dark splotches on the ruined wall, he began to draw. One dark spot became a boulder. Another took on the form of a highland stream over which a giant stag was seen to leap. After an hour of deft creation, the damaged wall now featured a marvelous highland scene. It seems that guest was Sir Edwin Landseer, Scotland's premier landscape artist. Because of his rare genius he was able to transform something ruined and ugly into a scene of rare beauty. And the old inn became famous.
____________
"Defeat may serve as well as victory
To shake the soul and let the glory out.
When the great oak is straining in the wind,
The boughs drink in new beauty, and the trunk
Sends down a deeper root on the windward side.
Only the soul that knows the mighty grief
Can know the mighty rapture. Sorrows come
To stretch our spaces in the heart for joy."
-- Edwin Markham
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 118 (C, E) -- Thanksgiving for God's repeated deliverance.
Prayer Of The Day
Bright day, inward warmth, love set free, quickened life, joyous laughs, quiet touch: Easter morn. Thank you. Amen.
