Matins Devotion: October 7, 2024

Matthew 9:18-38

When the mourners at the house of the ruler hear Jesus say that the man’s daughter is not dead but sleeping, they laugh at Jesus. They don’t laugh, of course, because they think Jesus is joking but because they think He’s delusional. Sure, Jesus is a miracle worker, a prophet. Sure, the Spirit of God is with Him, but He’s simply too late. The girl has breathed her last. They saw it. The hour of hope is dead. The hour of sorrow is here.

But as Jesus shows, the hour of hope never dies when the Lord of Life is in the room. When the Incarnate Word of God speaks, His word has power even when no other words do. The Son of God who has authority over every atom of your flesh does not lose any of that authority when death claims you. If you’ve been dead for five minutes or five million years, your Lord has the power to command you to arise and to let you watch death depart you forever when He takes you by the hand and He lifts you up.

He has that power. And He will use it. Through the mercy of your God, through the waters of your baptism, you no longer belong to this world of sorrows, to this fallen world of death. You belong to Jesus Christ, the One who has sworn to take you out of your grave on the Last Day and welcome you into His eternal kingdom of bliss. And on that day, along with all the saints of God, you will laugh. You won’t laugh because your Lord is delusional. Rather, you will laugh because your Lord is victorious. You’ll laugh with your Lord in the face of the devil He has fully and finally conquered. On that day, you will laugh with joy because you will see that the hour of sorrow is dead, and the Lord of hope has given you the never-ending hour of peace.