TODAY'S DEVOTION:
He is the God who goes before us. Today we stand beside Mary Magdalene and her companions as the dawn breaks on the first day of the week, their hearts still shadowed by grief and questions. The tomb is meant to be a place of sorrow, a broken reminder of abandonment and loss—yet in this silence, something world-changing has begun. Death is not the end, and despair does not have the final word.
Our readings from Deuteronomy 10-12 remind us of Israel’s call: to love the Lord with heart, soul, and strength, to walk in God’s ways, to remember that all of life is a gift freely given. The command is not rooted in fear of punishment but in participation—being called into the loving, liberating life of God. Obedience is not a transaction to appease violence or wrath, but an invitation to share in the blessing that God intends for all people, including the marginalized among us: the orphan, the widow, the foreigner. We are formed to be a people who love because we are loved.
Then the readings in Mark 16 turn our gaze toward an empty tomb and the angels’ greeting—Christ is risen, and he is going ahead of you. This is not a God waiting for appeasement; it is the God who confronts the darkness, defeats the powers and principalities, and emerges in victory over death and abandonment. This is Christus Victor—the God who, in the person of Jesus, breaks the cycle of violence, absorbs the grief, and raises us to walk in newness of life. The cross is not where God unleashes wrath on the Son, but rather where, in self-giving love, God absorbs our violence and shame and transforms it, unveiling a kingdom ruled by peace and the restoring love of Trinity.
The resurrection story tells us: We are not left behind. We are never abandoned. The risen Christ meets us in our most broken places, speaks our names, and calls us forward. Even when our hearts tremble and our voices fail, God’s love goes ahead of us, making a way where there was none before and promising never to let us go.
So today, may we walk in the assurance that Christ our Victor is with us and before us. May we take up the call to love generously, walk justly, and remember that seeing and following begins with hearing the good news—God is with us and for us, always. This is the prayer I have for my soul, for my family, for my community, and for you.
May the Spirit open our hearts wider to this hope, and may we walk forward in the strength and gentleness of Christ’s victory.
May it be so.
Stamped With God's Image
