Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let Israel now proclaim, "His mercy endures for ever."

14 The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

15 There is a sound of exultation and victory in the tents of the righteous:

16 "The right hand of the Lord has triumphed! the right hand of the Lord is exalted! the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"

17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

18 The Lord has punished me sorely, but he did not hand me over to death.

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord.

20 "This is the gate of the Lord; he who is righteous may enter."

21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me and have become my salvation.

22 The same stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 On this day the Lord has acted; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

This year, Monday Matters will focus on wisdom conveyed in the treasures of the book of Psalms. We'll look at the psalms read in church before Monday Matters comes to your screen.

Alleluia! The Lord is risen!

"If you were to ask me point-blank: 'What does it mean to you to live spiritually?' I would have to reply: 'Living with Jesus at the center."' -Henri Nouwen

The psalm you may have heard at yesterday’s Easter celebration concludes with this verse: On this day, the Lord has acted. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

So what specifically has the Lord done on this day, on Easter? While it may at times seem shrouded in mystery, here’s one way to think about why we make such a fuss about Easter. What God does in Easter is make a way where there was no way. Said another way, God opens a door for us, so that in the words of the psalm, we might enter God’s gates with thanksgiving. Said another way, God turns dead end into threshold.

A scan of scripture will remind us that this kind of activity is totally in character for the Holy One. Abraham and Sarah in their nineties had no hope that they would ever visit the maternity ward. Then Isaac arrived. Moses and his people stood trapped on the edge of the sea, with hostile army advancing. A way opened up through the waters. Who knew? When Daniel was tossed in the lion’s den, one could safely assume that was his end.

The holy creation of a way forward is especially apparent in the various resurrection stories. Mark’s gospel tells of women making their way to Jesus’ tomb, asking “Who will roll away the stone?” Where they imagined obstacle, God opened a pathway. Where they imagined end of story, God opened a new chapter. Luke’s gospel tells of disciples leaving Jerusalem, making their way to Emmaus, disappointed with the weekend’s results, not unlike those who work hard on a political campaign and find that their candidate ends up getting walloped. These disciples say to each other: “We had hoped.” They end up hosting Jesus for dinner, only to find that he is in fact the host. Disappointment dissipated, they head back to Jerusalem. With the news of Jesus’ death, John’s gospel tells us Peter reverts to his old way of life, heading for a fishing boat. Then he sees Jesus on the shore, cooking breakfast of all things. In the face of his three denials, Peter is given the grace of three opportunities for restoration, for forgiveness. With that open door, he could then follow Jesus and become the rock on which the church was built. In each of these cases, the sense of being at a dead end was countered by the living presence of Jesus.

It’s not surprising that Jesus would in his person, in his presence, represent a way forward. He told his disciples not to be troubled in heart, because he was the way. In one of his several analogies, he said “I am the door.” The implication is that those with ears to hear are meant to follow him into that new reality, and to give up the idea that there was no hope. Easter provides the basis for the insight from the lead character in the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. That character repeats: In the end, everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

Dare we believe that? I’m wondering what dead end you might be facing this Monday morning. Is there a stone standing in the way? Do you sense a door closed to anything new, anything different? The bold claim of Easter is that there is always a way forward. There is always a new chapter. There is always a way to go deeper in the life with God.

We access that new way of life by letting the drama of Holy Week and Easter unfold in our life. We access that new way by committing to a way of service, as Jesus did when he washed disciples’ feet. We access that by taking up our cross, as Jesus did when he set his face to Jerusalem. We access that by embracing the new life God has for us. We access that new life by deepening our relationship with Jesus, keeping Jesus at the center. That's why the quote from Henri Nouwen at the top of this post seems so important.

I’m taken with the insight that the word “resurrection” really means to stand again. Whenever we feel that we have fallen and we can’t get up, the promise of resurrection is held out for us. Mixing our metaphors, the promise of resurrection allows us to turn dead end into threshold. That opportunity is what God has done in Jesus on this day we call Easter. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

-Jay Sidebotham