Collyer: Easter

Saturday, March 26, 2016
    Holy Saturday
    Feast of Harriet Monsell of Clewer, Religious, 1883
Meditation:
    But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
    —Luke 24:1-7 (ESV)
Quotation:
Morning breaks upon the tomb,
Jesus dissipates its gloom.
Day of triumph through the skies—
See the glorious Saviour rise.

Christians dry your flowing tears,
Chase those unbelieving fears;
Look on his deserted grave,
Doubt no more his power to save.

Ye who are of death afraid,
Triumph in the scatter’d shade:
Drive your anxious cares away,
See the place where Jesus lay.
    ... William Bengo Collyer (1782-1854), Hymns, partly collected and partly original, London: Longman, Hunt, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1812, p. 887 (see the book)
    See also Luke 24:1-12; Matt. 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-10; John 20:1-17
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have broken the curse we were under. Show me where I must spread the good news.

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Meynell: all alone

Friday, March 25, 2016
    Good Friday
    Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord to the Virgin Mary
Meditation:
    The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
    —Matthew 28:5-7
Quotation:
All night had shouts of men and cry
    Of woeful women filled His way;
Until that noon of sombre sky
    On Friday, clamour and display
Smote Him; no solitude had He.
No silence, since Gethsemane.

Public was death; but Power, but Might,
    But Life again, but Victory,
Were hushed within the dead of night,
    The shutter’d dark, the secrecy.
And all alone, alone, alone
He rose again behind the stone.
    ... Alice Meynell (1847-1922), A Father of Women: and other poems, Burns & Oates, 1917, p. 30 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 28:5-7; 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; John 19:25-27
Quiet time reflection:
    You rose again, according to the promise of the Father. Because of You, I now have the same promise.

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Mary Elizabeth Coleridge: Good Friday

Thursday, March 24, 2016
    Maundy Thursday
    Feast of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980
    Commemoration of Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953
Meditation:
    When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
    —John 21:15-17 (ESV)
Quotation:
Good Friday in my heart! Fear and affright!
My thoughts are the disciples when they fled,
My words the words that priest and soldier said,
My deed the spear to desecrate the dead.
And day, Thy death therein, is changed to night.

Then Easter in my heart sends up the sun.
My thoughts are Mary, when she turned to see.
My words are Peter, answering, “Lov’st thou me?”
My deeds are all Thine own drawn close to Thee.
And night and day, since thou dost rise, are one.
    ... Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861-1907), Poems, London: Elkin Mathews, 1908, p. 148-149 (see the book)
    See also John 21:15-17; Ps. 51:7; Isa. 53:2-11; Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50; John 16:32; 19:34
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I return Your love to me.

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Watt: an Easter vow

Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Meditation:
    But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
    —Romans 6:17-18 (ESV)
Quotation:
I bind my heart, this tide
To the Galilean’s side,
To the wounds of Calvary—
To the Christ who died for me.

I bind my soul this day
To the brother far away
And the brother near at hand,
In this town and in this land.

I bind my heart in thrall
To God, the Lord of all,
To God, the poor man’s Friend,
And the Christ whom He did send.

I bind myself to peace,
To make strife and envy cease.
God, knit Thou sure the cord
Of my thralldom to my Lord.
    ... Lauchlan MacLean Watt (1867-1957), included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 373 (see the book)
    See also Rom. 6:17-18; Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Josh. 24:14-15; 1 Sam. 12:24; Isa. 56:6-7; John 3:34
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, to You I owe all loyalty because of Your death and resurrection.

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Hanson: the final rebellion

Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
    —Matthew 23:37-39 (ESV)
Quotation:
    Here [in Matthew 23] is an interpretation of Israel’s history according to which God’s people have always been disobedient and rebellious: their alienation from God, it is clearly implied, is to reach its climax in the murder of the Messiah himself.
    ... Anthony T. Hanson (1916-1991), The Church of the Servant, London: SCM Press, 1962, p. 36 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 23:37-39; 12:39; 16:4; 17:17; Mark 8:12,38; 9:19; Luke 9:41; 11:29-30
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, extinguish the rebellious Jerusalem inside me. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Berdyaev: the entrance to heaven

Monday, March 21, 2016
Meditation:
    For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison...
    —1 Peter 3:18-19 (ESV)
Quotation:
    For Christian consciousness, paradise is the Kingdom of Christ and is unthinkable apart from Christ. But this changes everything. The cross and the crucifixion enter into the bliss of paradise. The Son of God and the Son of Man descends into hell to free those who suffer there... To conquer evil, the good must crucify itself.
    ... Nicholas Berdyaev (1874-1948), The Destiny of Man, London: Geoffrey Bles, 1937, Hyperion Press, 1979, p. 292 (see the book)
    See also 1 Pet. 3:18-19; Luke 23:43; Matt. 16:21; John 14:2-3; 19:11; Heb. 9:23-26; Rev. 2:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have ransomed me, at what a cost! CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Spurgeon: the heavenly duty

Sunday, March 20, 2016
    Palm Sunday
    Feast of Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687
Meditation:
    Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
    —Revelation 5:11-12 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties. The angels pray not, but they cease not to praise both day and night; and the redeemed, clothed in white robes, with palm-branches in their hands, are never weary of singing the new song, “Worthy is the Lamb.”
    ... Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892), for Oct. 30, Morning by Morning, New York: Sheldon & Co., 1867, p. 304 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 5:11-12; Ps. 9:1; 96:1; 149:1; Isa. 6:2-3; Rev. 4:8-9; 5:9; 7:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I sing Your praises. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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