Exodus chapters 11-12
Are you a morning person or a night person?
Science has proven that there are times of the day when we are at our peak, and times when we are off-peak. The tricky thing is that we are all different. I have learned that, even though I enjoy night-time activities, I am not very productive at night. I am at my best somewhere between the hours of 8 and 11am. I also think that I am at my worst between 2 and 5pm. Science suggests that if we were able to schedule our daily activities according to our peak and off-peak times we would become more productive, and generally less stressed about life.
We are made in the image of God. Do you think God has a peak time? It's kind of odd to consider, since we would naturally assume that God's omnipotence would preclude any possibility of a peak or off-peak time. But, if for no other reason than for fun, let's consider it for a moment.
Based upon scripture, I think we would have to say that God is at His peak in the night. Think about it. In Genesis, God creates all things out of darkness. In today's text, God sends the mightiest, and the final plague upon Egypt in the middle of the night. God establishes the tradition of Passover for His people and the Exodus begins in the middle of the night. Fast forward now, to the occasion of this day. Today is Holy Saturday. It is the day in which we remember that Jesus was dead in the darkness of a tomb as all of heaven awaited the miraculous event of his resurrection; witnessed in the dawn of Easter morning. This means that the resurrection of Jesus was also a night-time, or darkness event of God's power. The most significant things that God did, the things that still form the very identity of our faith, all happened when God acted in the darkness of night. God must be a night person. He is at his peak in the darkness of night. :-)
God still makes miracles happen in the darkness. Think about the darkest periods of your life. What kept you going, kept you hoping? It was God, doing His most miraculous work for you in your darkest time. God works through all sorts of ways; a friend, a book, a song, a prayer. Most importantly, so that all who seek Him may know where to find Him, He promises to work through his Word in scripture, and in the bread and wine of Holy Communion. I can tell you from my own personal experience that the darkest periods of my life were also times when I had neglected my own faith; when scripture reading, prayer, and genuine worship were taken for granted. On the other hand, I can tell you with equal experiential reference, that in those times the one thing that always brought me out of the darkness and into the light was when I would stop neglecting my faith; return to God through prayer, confession and most importantly, the disciplines of devotion to the Word and sacrament.
Is there a darkness you're enduring right now?
Here's the greatest news of all....God is at His very best when we give up trying to control the darkness and trust it to Him. God turns the darkness of a lonely painful night into the joy of a friendly morning. God turns the darkness of slavery to sins into the grace or forgiveness in the morning. God turns the darkness of grief and sorrow into the hope of eternal life in the morning. No matter how dark life becomes, with trust in God, the Son will rise to bring about the dawn of new life in our hearts.
Lord God, you reserve your greatest work for the darkness of our lives. Thank you for being present in my darkest times. Thank you for this new day. Thank you for your Son, who is our Passover lamb. Let me never take for granted your desire to guide my steps with your Word and sacrament, for your path is one of light, love and peace. Most of all, give me courage to let go of my darkness, give up control, and let you create a new day for me. Let your Son rise within me as I celebrate Easter. In Jesus' name. Amen
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