It's Monday Again
April 13, 2009
Over at Ref21 Stephen Nichols has written a timely post entitled "The Day After Easter."
"Easter is over. The new clothes are hung up, the candy has been eaten, and choir directors and pastors everywhere--not to mention ushers--are enjoying the quiet routines of a Monday. For the diehard Reformed, you know who you are, this Monday is like every other Monday because Easter Sunday is like every other Sunday: Resurrection Sunday comes every seven days for you, not once a year.
"For the rest of us, I have some thoughts. It was after Christ rose from the dead that the work of the church, of beginning and building the church, began in earnest. The euphoria of the Resurrection moment would abate and the grind of routine would set in. The hard work, the daily commitment to love and care for people, the challenge of a hostile world crushing in, all this and more was what the early church, the New Testament church, had to look forward to.
"Weeks, months, years after the resurrection how did they do it?
"Being faithful in the routines, on the Mondays after the Sundays, is important. It is as inversely important as it seems unglamorous.
"We can all be thankful for the Resurrection, even and especially for Resurrection Sunday. It is a reminder that Christ conquered all our enemies, the enemies of sin and death and guilt. He even conquered the enemy of our unfaithfulness, the enemy of our running in fits and spurts, the enemy of our languid efforts at a patient and long obedience, and the enemy of letting Mondays, weeks and months and years of Mondays, simply roll on by, becoming a mass of missed days of worship, service, love, and obedience."
"Easter is over. The new clothes are hung up, the candy has been eaten, and choir directors and pastors everywhere--not to mention ushers--are enjoying the quiet routines of a Monday. For the diehard Reformed, you know who you are, this Monday is like every other Monday because Easter Sunday is like every other Sunday: Resurrection Sunday comes every seven days for you, not once a year.
"For the rest of us, I have some thoughts. It was after Christ rose from the dead that the work of the church, of beginning and building the church, began in earnest. The euphoria of the Resurrection moment would abate and the grind of routine would set in. The hard work, the daily commitment to love and care for people, the challenge of a hostile world crushing in, all this and more was what the early church, the New Testament church, had to look forward to.
"Weeks, months, years after the resurrection how did they do it?
"Being faithful in the routines, on the Mondays after the Sundays, is important. It is as inversely important as it seems unglamorous.
"We can all be thankful for the Resurrection, even and especially for Resurrection Sunday. It is a reminder that Christ conquered all our enemies, the enemies of sin and death and guilt. He even conquered the enemy of our unfaithfulness, the enemy of our running in fits and spurts, the enemy of our languid efforts at a patient and long obedience, and the enemy of letting Mondays, weeks and months and years of Mondays, simply roll on by, becoming a mass of missed days of worship, service, love, and obedience."
