“Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the Lord’s gate;
the righteous will enter through it.
I will give thanks to you because you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This came from the Lord;
it is wondrous in our sight.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:19-24
This Psalm seems so fitting to our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Many of the Psalms have Messianic undertones foreshadowing the life and work of Jesus. On this very strange day in 2020, I sit in a church that will be void of people entering to praise God and celebrate the resurrection as the body of Christ. Yet we can enter into the gates of God’s presence, the privilege that Jesus made possible. In His presence even if from our kitchen table, or our living room we can give thanks to God for His wonderful and blessed Salvation through Jesus His One and only Son. His Son who was rejected as the Messiah and Redeemer by those who had Him crucified, is the very One who has become the eternal cornerstone of redemption with His resurrection from the dead. It was all a part of God’s perfect plan to draw a lost and rebellious mankind back into relationship with Him. So on a day like today set aside to commemorate and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, even if we must do it from our homes, we can proclaim with enthusiasm and confidence that this is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Father God, you are the Almighty Sovereign Creator of all things, You are the One who sustains all life through
Your providence. You are to be praised and worshiped alone. With grateful hearts we say thank you for
Jesus’ death, His burial, and specifically today His resurrection. Thank you Jesus for bringing hope to hopelessness,
righteousness to the unrighteous, and the gift of eternal life. Indeed, you have risen and brought new life to
to the lost and dying. May our thoughts continuously be on You as we walk through this day that you have made.
All in Jesus Name, Amen.