Thanks
to thee, O Christ, Victorious Lutheran Service Book #548
1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Isaiah 53:4-6, 8,
11-12; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:15
Thanks to Thee, O Christ, victorious!
Thanks to Thee, O Lord of Life!
Death has now no power o’er us,
Thou has conquered in the strife.
Thanks because Thou didst arise
And hast opened paradise!
None can fully sing the glory
Of the resurrection story.
The sting of death is sin. The power of
sin is the law. The curse of Adam is all around us. Our first parents listened
to the lie. They believed a falsehood. They bought into the propaganda. “You won’t surely die! In the day you eat it. Your eyes will be
opened. You will be like God. You
will know good and evil.
Now the ground is cursed. In toil, we
struggle to survive. Thorns and thistles are in abundance. Adam’s alibi, he listened to the voice of his
wife. Now there is pain in childbirth. In pain, children are brought forth. Your desire shall be for your husband. He
will rule over you. There is now a failure to communicate amongst couples. On
the most basic of human levels. This is our lot in life. Lived outside of Eden.
Yet, in Christ, there is hope of new
life. The victory is yours. In going to the bloody cross, Jesus bore your sin
in His body. Your sin is now disbursed into Christ’s body, and buried in His
tomb. You are now free in Christ. On the last great day the trumpet will sound.
The Dead shall rise. The corruptible will put on incorruption. The mortal will
put on immortality. Death will be swallowed
up in victory. And our former life will be remembered no more. In the early
days of Lent there is hope for the future. We remain Easter people.
Merciful
Father, through Holy Baptism, You called us to be Your own possession. Grant
that our lives may evidence the working of You Holy Spirit in love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,
according to the image of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior.[1]
[1]
Lutheran Service Book, Collect for Life as a baptized child of God © 2006
Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
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