Sunday Shorts: Restored by Love

Luke 24:47 Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (NRSV)

When Jesus came back from the dead, His first message to the disciples was similar to what He initially expressed as He began His ministry. At that original point, He urged people to repent and believe the good news because the Kingdom of God was near (Mark 1:15). After being resurrected, the message that His disciples were now given to proclaim was simple: people were being urged to repent and their forgiveness of sins was to be declared. 

This meant that when Jesus died on the Cross things were changed for all of humanity. Whatever debt we owed to God because of our sinful ways was cancelled completely. Before the Cross, people needed to appease God with sacrifices; after the resurrection, we were urged to sacrifice our pride and humbly confess our mistakes in order to be given total forgiveness of our sins. 

I don’t know about you, but that divine transaction of my debt being imposed on Jesus when He was nailed to the Cross gives me hope. I’ve done some really bad things in my life that I truly regret and wish never happened. I would be as miserable as sin if I didn’t know Jesus as my Savior, so when He offers me true forgiveness in return for my repentance, I’m ready to take that gift.

Perhaps you’ve been carrying some guilt in your heart and it keeps you awake at night. Maybe you’ve done something foolish that you regret and it torments your mind. Whatever it is, it can be rectified; whatever you’ve done, you can be restored to God’s favor and love. Jesus has completed what was necessary to reconnect all of us to our gracious God – all we simply have to do is repent.

Find a quiet place today and have a quiet time with God. Unburden your soul and let the tears of regret fall from your eyes. There is nothing that you have done that God cannot forgive through Jesus. God already knows what it is, so just allow yourself to be relieved by simply whispering it to God. Repentance will restore you and Jesus will embrace you. Let His power to forgive, renew you; let His ability to love, release you.

Prayer: Lord, You know us completely. You’ve seen all of our mistakes and are totally aware of all the things that bother our consciences. Help us to find some quiet time to be with You alone, to confess our faults, address our sins, and unburden all that we are sinfully and selfishly carrying. Allow us to take the opportunity of the forgiveness, peace, and love that You offer. In Your Holy Name, we humbly confess and pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sunday Shorts: A Woman's Courage

John 20:15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” (NIV)

I admire the courage of Mary Magdalene and how she remains committed to Jesus, even in the face of adversity. After Peter and John have gone back into hiding after seeing the empty tomb, Mary stays in the garden because she is concerned about where Christ’s body may have been taken. She still wants to tend to the crucified corpse; she still wishes to restore dignity back to the broken body of Jesus. Mary is determined to find out what happened, so she does not leave the garden unlike the other disciples and women.

Her bravery is also evident when she is confronted by a stranger. She does not yet know that this is Jesus standing before her, she thinks that he is merely the gardener. Mary could have run away like the others at that moment, but she is still determined to carry out her mission. If anyone knows where Christ’s body has been taken, it will surely be this gardener whom Mary presumes to be working in the tomb area.

Mary does something dangerous here: she asks the gardener if he knows where the body is and tells him that she will take care of it elsewhere. Her love and devotion to Jesus are evident in those words and her simple request. Remember, Christ has just been crucified by the Romans and His death was welcomed by the religious authorities. Mary is choosing to side with a criminal and a failed Messiah; she is placing herself in a precarious position, one that could get her flogged by both the Romans and the temple soldiers. She does not care about her own safety; all she wants to do is the right thing.

I love the fact that Jesus makes Himself known to her at this point, just by speaking her name. She may not recognize the stranger because there’s something holy and transfigured about Him, but as soon as He says her name, Mary instantly knows Christ’s voice. It’s a wonderful moment when faith vanquishes fear, love lets go loss, and devotion disables death. The voice of Jesus does that for Mary and her courage reconnects her to the Lord.

This is Easter for me because it encapsulates the Good News of the Gospel. Beyond death, there is Christ and a miraculous moment waiting for all who love Him: to hear Jesus personally speak our name. We may leave the surly bonds of Earth one day, but in that same second of transference from mortality to eternity, we will first hear the voice of Jesus say our name and then be welcomed into God’s Everlasting Kingdom.

Point to ponder: What does Easter mean to me?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, on this Day of Resurrection speak to us personally and restore us to Your love individually. Open our hearts and minds to receive Your words and ways, as well as Your love and life. Help us to reach out to Your abiding Spirit and know that we will never be abandoned, forsaken, or alone, in this world and the next. In Your Holy Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

 

John Stuart is a retired Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.