A WORD FOR TODAY, April 1, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 1, 2026
Lectionary Scriptures for April 5, 2026, Resurrection Day: Easter Sunrise: Exodus 14:10-15:1; Psalm 118:15-29; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; John 20:1-18. Easter Day: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 16; Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10
“Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.” Psalm 118:29, WEB
Spoiler alert! We are going to talk about the end of the story before the rest of the story. We are going to turn to the last page of a mystery to find out whodunit before we’ve even heard about the conflict. The most difficult part of writing Midweek Oasis in the middle of Holy Week is thinking about Resurrection Day when the calendar says we still have to get through the hard part of Jesus’ story. The forty days are almost over. We can see the end of our Lenten journey, beginning with Palm Sunday when Jesus entered into Jerusalem to set into motion the culmination of His life and ministry. We still need to experience those moments, to see how Jesus finished the work God sent Him to do. Yet, at this moment, we have the opportunity to peek at the end of the story.
It is good for us to follow the Passion story through the week. Too many people skip from the Triumph of Palm Sunday to the triumph of Easter Day, and they don’t realize what Jesus truly did for us. A prominent politician said during Holy Week a few years ago, “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven, I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.” He thought he earned his way to heaven.
Did he? He said, “...if there is a God...” His attitude is no different than most of the world. We believe in good works. We believe that we have done enough to earn our way into heaven. The truth is this: whatever we have done, whichever “side” of any issue we stand, our work will not make us worthy. It is by faith we have been saved, and that too is a gift. It is given to us by the One who obediently, humbly, and passionately went through the Three Days of pain, betrayal, denial, suffering, crucifixion, and the grave that we have yet to see to defeat sin and death by rising on Easter morning.
But that is the rest of the story.
It was ironic that the politician made his claim during Holy Week. Our minds are set on heaven during this holy time as we experience the miracle of God’s grace in Easter. We see the world come alive with the fresh new growth of spring. We celebrate the day by gathering with our family and friends. We break out our best clothes and even go buy new dresses or suits for the occasion. Our churches will be filled with sweet smelling lilies, and we can once again sing “Alleluia” to our God. The stories of the Passion and the Resurrection turn our hearts to the God who has done all this for us. Yet in the midst of all this, there are many who have this understanding that their good works will earn them a place in heaven.
They miss the purpose of Jesus completely. They misunderstand God as much as those religious leaders in Jerusalem did nearly two thousand years ago. They continue to rely on their own strength and to see their own accomplishments as good and right and true. They are arrogant and ignorant. They don’t necessarily appear arrogant or ignorant. As a matter of fact, many people who think like this do wonderfully good works and are both humble and intelligent. However, their humility and knowledge are the very things keeping them from a good and right and true relationship with God. They act as servants to men while ignoring, rejecting, or doubting the reality of God and thus raising themselves as gods in this world.
We have already seen that in the days leading up to the Triduum (the Three Days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil) Jesus taught about the end times and the need for vigilance and preparation. He challenged the leaders. He addressed questions about marriage and taxes. He expounded upon the greatest commandment. Jesus was faithful to His work leading people toward God even though He knew the end was near. He chose not to wallow in self, but to teach and equip God’s people to dwell in God’s grace and to persevere as they wait for the ultimate victory over darkness.
The Old Testament lesson from Exodus is from the escape from Egypt. The Hebrews arrived at the Red Sea and realized that Pharaoh changed his mind and was chasing them with an army. They had nowhere to go. They couldn’t go into the sea, and they couldn’t return to Egypt; the only possible outcome was death. The people were afraid. They argued with Moses, “Isn’t this the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it were better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” They would return to this thinking over and over again as they journeyed to the Promised Land.
Though they wanted to escape the heavy hand of the Egyptians, God’s plan was frightening because they did not know where it would lead. They wanted to turn back at the first sign of difficulty.
This passage is an interesting choice for us to read on Easter. Imagine how the disciples felt in the days after Jesus died on the cross. They did not know what would come next. Despite His repeated assurances, they felt like they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Danger surrounded them. They couldn’t move forward and they couldn’t go back. Their lives had changed, but now everything was for naught. They scattered during the trial, only a few saw Him on the hill. Though some returned to the upper room, we know that Thomas was hiding elsewhere because he was not present when Jesus appeared to the rest.
The answer to the Hebrews was to trust in God. “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.” At that, Moses raised his staff over the sea and the sea parted before them. They ran for their lives. The Egyptians followed, but when the last Hebrew was safely on the far shore, Moses raised his staff and the sea closed up again. By the power of God, they were saved.
The disciples waited and worried and wondered. I’m sure they prayed, but did they even know what they were praying for? They probably discussed the week. What they do wrong? What did Jesus do wrong? What should the do next? They grieved, they cried, they were angry and confused. How could it turn out so wrong? Did they wonder whether they should have rejected Jesus three years earlier thinking it would have been far better to lead their normal humdrum lives rather than die at the hands of the powerful? I don’t doubt that at least some of the conversation revolved around returning home, going back to the way life was before Jesus. No matter how good it was to be with Him, they thought the old ways were better than death.
But God said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see my salvation.”
As we turn to the last page of the story, we see that early in the morning on the first day of the week, the women went to the tomb to take care of the body of Jesus. They did not have time to complete the burial when Jesus died because of the Sabbath, so they returned to use spices for anointing and grieve for their Lord. When they arrived in the garden, they noticed the stone had been moved. Jesus’ body was missing.
It is easy for us to look at the Resurrection story with hindsight. We can imagine what it might have been like: the joy, the peace, the sudden revelation of everything Jesus had said. We look at the people involved and think to ourselves, “Why didn’t they know?” “Why were they afraid?” We think about these questions because we have twenty-twenty vision. We have seen the end of the story. We have seen God’s work in its fullness. They didn’t have the same perspective. They were living it and they could not see what would happen next.
We see the empty tomb as a sign of the hope to come with our twenty-twenty vision. We know our tombs will one day be empty because we have eternal life in Christ Jesus. In this we rejoice. Yet, on that first Easter day, the disciples were not yet rejoicing. The women were afraid. Mary wept. The disciples were confused. They did not understand what was happening. The events we are yet to see on Thursday and Friday were too fresh in their minds. Jesus put them at ease one by one by appearing to them.
How do you feel when something exciting happens? Isn’t there a bit of fear when you have been blessed with something good? A new job is a wonderful thing, but everyone suffers a certain amount of fear and doubt. What if I fail? What if it is too hard? What if I can’t get along with my co-workers? We do this when we become involved in a new relationship. Will it last? Do we really have enough in common to make it work? What will happen if I’m left alone again? New parents suffer the greatest fears. What if we can’t handle the responsibility? What if our baby gets sick? What if I do something wrong?
These questions may sound pessimistic, but they are the reality of our human nature. We face a certain amount of fear when we are going into something new. We face doubts and uncertainty when we do not know what is going to happen next. Those fears need not stop us from going forward, but we do have to learn how to cope with and overcome the fear.
On the Wednesday of Holy Week, the disciples were still excited about what was to come. Though men were scheming, they were basking in the glory of seeing Jesus honored, hearing Jesus teach, excitedly waiting to celebrate a very special Passover feast with their Lord. They didn’t know that just two days later they would watch Jesus be arrested and killed. Despite the many times Jesus told them it had to happen this way, they still expected the story to turn out differently. Still, there must have been some questions because Jesus’ demeaner had changed. The talk of death must have been disheartening.
We are blessed because we look at the Christian story from a post resurrection perspective. How would we have felt if we were one of those disciples, left in mourning and afraid for our own lives after Jesus died on the cross? Would we see the hope of new life? No, everything they had come to believe screeched to a halt when Jesus was arrested. We catch glimpses of some of the disciples: Peter in the courtyard denying Jesus, Judas in despair, John hovering with Mary at the foot of the cross. Yet, we’ll see in the Passion story over the next few days, most of the disciples were nowhere to be seen.
Seeing the story from a post resurrection perspective might make us feel overconfident about the way we would have reacted. We believe that Jesus is indeed all that He said He was. He is the right hand of God who has come to save the world. But would we have felt that way two thousand or so years ago? The disciples did not yet have the gift of the Holy Spirit. The scriptures tell us that when Jesus talked of His death, they did not understand because it was hidden from them. It was not until after Pentecost that they fully understood all there was to know about Jesus.
For those first disciples, the cross was the end of everything. Jesus was rejected, cast off, and killed. It was not the end of the story, though. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were the beginning of a new life, a new community of believers, and a new hope. The promise was fulfilled on that first Easter Day. The sea was parted for the Hebrews and those who believed in God’s Word came out on the other side. The same is true for the disciples and for us who believe today. Jesus parted the sea so we could enter into the true Promised Land.
Do you believe? Do you believe in the God who created the heavens and earth? Do you believe in the God who saved Israel from Egypt and took them to the Promised Land? Do you believe in the God who gave us the Law to help us to live good and right and true lives in this world? Do you believe in the God who appointed the judges and the kings and the prophets? Do you believe in the God who repeatedly saved His people despite their failure to live according to His Word? Do you believe in the God who had mercy on His people who kept turning away? Do you believe that God was always faithful, even when His people were not?
Do you believe in the God who sent His own Son to be beaten, betrayed, denied, and killed? Do you believe that the One named Jesus who was obedient even to being nailed to a cross? Do you believe He died and was buried in a tomb for three days? Do you believe that in doing so Jesus took upon Himself the entire weight of the sin of the world, including your own? Do you believe that He rose again? Do you believe that He did this so that you will be forgiven and raised to new life with Him? Do you believe that He has called and gifted His Church and sent us out into the world to tell the story again and again so that the whole world will believe?
These are questions we continue to consider as we finish Holy Week and experience the joy of Easter.
Psalm 118 is a song of praise and thanksgiving for deliverance. It is not the song of an individual, but rather the hymn of a nation. While it was originally written and most likely sung in response to God’s hand against Israel’s enemies, it is also a foretelling of the ultimate salvation that would come to the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The psalmist wrote, “Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to Yah. This is the gate of Yahweh; the righteous will enter into it.” Who are the righteous? In the days of Jesus, the righteous were the ones who had the power, who had the appearance of righteousness. They knew the scriptures and they knew the Law. Yet they did not know God. They did not recognize Him in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. So, they rejected Jesus, cast Him away to the cross. His death was not permanent, however. The true righteous are those who believe in Him.
The psalmist wrote, “The right hand of Yahweh is exalted! The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly!” Then he added, “I will not die, but live, and declare Yah’s works.” Moses was the hand that God used to part the Red Sea to deliver the Hebrews to the Promised Land. Jesus is the right hand of God, sent to deliver us from an even greater enemy. In ancient culture, the right hand attested to the victor’s powerful superiority. A commander, when entering a city, would raise his right hand in the air to show that he was the winner. God has raised His right hand, because He has conquered sin and death. God raised Jesus to show that He is all powerful and that Jesus’ Passion was just the middle of the story. Jesus was not accepted by all the people in His day, and His death and resurrection were questioned by both the unbelievers and the believers, but He was still victorious.
We struggle with Holy Week, especially the Triduum, because we can’t understand why it was necessary. Yet, we see that on that first Easter, God did something new and amazing. It was not the end but only the beginning for the disciples and for us. He gave us a peace that we could never know unless He gave it to us. Peace with Him. Peace of heart. Peace that changes the world.
Even as we talk about the end of the story, the disciples still had to experience the rest of the Passion: the Passover meal, the washing of their feet, the confusion about Jesus’ words, the betrayal of Judas, the arrest, the shock of the crucifixion. They didn’t know the end of the story would be the resurrection of Jesus. We see it now, and we know that the work of Jesus was finished. Unfortunately, we also know that life isn’t always perfect. We will struggle with questions and doubts. Our faith is not accepted by much of the world. We often feel like we have been backed into a corner, or caught between a rock and a hard place, but God delivered us from sin and death when Jesus, the right hand of God, parted the sea so we could cross into heaven and dwell with our God for eternity.
Peter has a change of heart in the passage from Acts. Even after the Resurrection, Peter had to learn how to share the Christian faith with the world. Peter thought the message of Jesus was given for the Jews alone. He thought Christ came for his nation, God’s chosen people. He was willing to allow others to join into the blessings if they followed the prescribed path of a proselyte. They could not be Christian unless they first became a Jew. However, Peter learned a much different lesson when he met Cornelius. When he opened his mouth, he shared the story of Jesus with people he never expected to receive God’s grace.
Peter realized that God’s mercy is not given just for those we want to receive it, but that God loves all and desires all to turn to Him. Jesus Christ does not play favorites, nor should we as we live our lives of faith in Him. We are called to rejoice when God has mercy on those who turn to Him in faith, for in Christ we are no longer enemies but brothers. The world would truly be a much better place if we all loved our enemies by sharing the Gospel of Christ with them so that they will become our brothers in faith. The Easter story is for the world, and it is up to us to share it.
It is tempting to read today’s lesson from the letter to the Colossians and think that Paul is suggesting that we reject the world and look only toward heaven. Yet, Christ calls us to live in the world even while we are no longer of the world. In other words, in Christ we have been transformed into His image, and we now belong to His Kingdom, and yet there is work to do in the here and now. So, we are joined with Him and as we grow in faith and mature in grace, God shines through our lives in ever increasing glory. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the world sees the work of God in our flesh and in our works. We become more and more like Him, and it should be Jesus that the world sees when they look at our lives.
When you believe in the Risen Christ, you will be raised with Him, and when you have been raised with Christ you are called to a new life. God will make Him manifest to others through you. You are called, like those first disciples, to be His witnesses, revealing Christ in your words and in your deeds. There may still be moments of waiting and worry and wonder, but God says, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see my salvation.” You are called to a life of thankfulness and praise that leaves behind the old ways to trust that He has indeed fulfilled His promises. No matter what obstacles you experience, He will always be faithful to lead you to the Promised Land.
Resurrection Day reminds us that God was doing the unexpected. God did everything differently than they planned. Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted. He didn’t teach the lessons they thought He should teach. He did not fellowship with the right people or do all the right things. I imagine it was tough for those first disciples as they discovered that God was doing something new in the world through them. God taught Peter an awesome lesson: that His love and mercy is for all men who hear and believe the Gospel message. Peter expected to minister to the Jews, to his own people. But when God called him to the house of Cornelius, he realized that God did not play favorites. God saved people from all sorts of circumstances.
It is the same today. Those who need to hear about the grace of Jesus Christ come from many different places. Not all will be prepared for the message in the same way; not all will receive it with the same heart. But God does not play favorites. He does not care who they are or what they have done. It does not matter to Him if they are male or female, young or old. He does not consider their goodness or worthiness. He does not look at a person’s credentials, their job or the people they know. He only sees the heart. His message is given to all those who hear and believe.
Do you believe? That is the question for this Easter Sunday. Your answer will determine whether you walk through those gates into heaven. Christ is the One who obediently and humbly and passionately went through the Three Days of pain, betrayal, denial, suffering, crucifixion and the grave to defeat sin and death by rising on Easter morning. We who believe need not spend our days looking to heaven wondering if there is a God. We know that we have died with Christ so that we will live with Him for eternity.
Thanks to the work of Jesus, His teachings, miracles, mercy, willful obedience, passion, death, and His resurrection, we are forgiven and have the peace that helps us move on as new people of faith, transformed not by our works by God’s grace. As His Easter people, He has invited us to go out into the world in that faith to share His grace with all the nations so that they will believe, giving thanks in all things for the God who is good, whose loving kindness endures forever.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.