except when there is

A dear friend pulled me out of a very dark place tonight. And she used the most unlikely of places. It wasn't a psalm, it wasn't any miracle story of the Gospels, it probably even hardly receives much mention, let me check:


When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
(Matthew 27:57-61 ESV)

How often do we skip over this as a quick hop to the resurrection? I mean, I know I've heard it plenty but I always glaze over as I think, hurry, get to the good part!

But here's the thing. God was dead. like, really dead. dead as the baby floating around in my womb with it's little hand floating above it. And these people had to take his body and deal with it. They had to carry it, wrap it, prepare spices for it.

And there was no good LCMS pastor to knock on their doors and see how they were and offer them the hope given in private absolution. Their hope was dead.

But even in His death His power sustained them, kept them from dropping dead themselves. You know in the new Avengers movie how when Iron Man goes flying through the portal and throws the bomb into the mothership or whatever thing that was that controlled all the monster robots destroying New York City, how they all collapsed dead when it exploded? God died, not just a little but, but died, and yet God's power of life that He has given us still existed. Because even in death He has power.

But that doesn't mean we don't still have to be handed over to isolation. To hard physical work. To death.

One day life will distract me enough to move forward. Perhaps joyful things will happen again to make me smile or laugh. Perhaps not. No one ever guaranteed they would or that we should expect them or think we deserve them. But even if they do not happen, God's power does not leave me. The resurrection is around the corner. And I suppose THAT is the ONLY THING to really be joyful about. None of it is here. Even the things we do have, Baptism, Absolution, God's Word, and God's Body and Blood, their joy comes from what is to come, not any promise of happy days today. But they DO promise to sustain. Now the Lord's Supper happening before the crucifixion all makes sense. :) He really thinks of everything doesn't He? ;)