Every New Morning

  “24This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” -Psalm 118:24

I’ll admit, I am no longer a morning person. There was a time when my internal clock got me going at 4am to deliver the daily newspaper in my childhood hometown, but these days it takes “a couple cups of coffee” worth of time to get moving, at least. Maybe you know mornings like these, when trudging through the routines that prepare us for the day feel like a chore and sours the outlook for the day ahead. Another day of school. Another day at work. Another day of the same.

 

The snow falling on the morning I’m writing this (March 26th) had me in this place, as I settled into a comfortable spot in Walker to consider an Easter sermon. While looking over the readings for Easter Sunday, I read the familiar words written above from Psalm 118. I sat struck, feeling a little guilty, at this simple yet extraordinary gift we have from the LORD. This day. This one. Here and now, all something God has prepared and given to you, to me, and to the world. It might sound simple, but when we begin to recognize what is a part of this day, well, it is truly extraordinary. Martin Luther in his explanation to the first article of the Creed included food and drink, health and home, family and community, and all the sustains this body and life, as that which God “daily and richly provides” to you and me. Our faith tells us this ought to be enough to turn morning frowns upside down, to rejoice and be glad at the beginning of each day for being here.

 

We all know, however, that which is gift doesn’t always produce the anticipated life-giving, positive outcome. In other words, we have great capacity to hurt one another, even the people we claim to love the most. Though we have enough food in the world to feed every person, people still go hungry, because of greed or other injustice. In the real world, the list of things Luther

    named that sustains this body and life can seem

          fleeting. But…

That is not all God is up to. It was early in the morning that first new day when the women headed to the tomb. (see Mark 16) When they arrived, the tomb was already empty, and they became the first witnesses to this promise of Easter – that in Christ, all things are being made new. No longer are we bound by what was or by that which has always been. If the dead don’t stay dead, then where else might new life spring up for us, for our neighbors, and for our world?

 

In the light of the resurrection, then these promises of God take hold of us in a new and powerful way.  

  -“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

  -“And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Rev 21:5a

 

Armed with these promises of God, we are invited to approach each new morning with gladness, even without the cup of coffee first. For while we will still encounter the effects of sin and brokenness amidst the life God gives us, we are no longer bound by them. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever again.

 

Pastor Matt