October 7, 2023

Today’s Reading: Introit to Pentecost 19: Psalm 118:22-24, antiphon Psalm 118:1

Daily Lectionary: Nehemiah 2:11-20, 4:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:1-15

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

In the Name of Jesus, Amen. You are a child of the day. Day is for light; for seeing clearly. You are not a child of any ordinary day but of an extraordinary day; a day coming since the creation of the world. A day set by God. A day that has come. The psalmist speaks of this day…“that the Lord has made.” (Psalm 118:24)

We are talking about a specific day in history that God made. We have reason to rejoice and be glad every day because of this day, one far greater than any other. It is the day the rejected stone became the cornerstone. You are a child of that day. A day full of light and life.

The Temple was built with enormous stones. The cornerstone was selected to join two walls together. The psalmist is not speaking of an earthly building or stones. He is speaking of Jesus. He is the stone that was rejected by His own people according to God’s will and design. Jesus came to build something far greater than the Temple. He came to build His church of which He is the cornerstone. The church which is the household of God filled with the children of the day. The day that stone was laid in place for His church is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day of which we speak. A day of resurrection and light. 

Jesus was rejected. The religious leaders with the crowd cried, “crucify him.” He had done nothing deserving such rejection. Yet, He was not only rejected by His people but also by His Father. He was stricken, smitten, afflicted and forsaken by God. Rejected. Crucified. Buried. 

But let us get to the day, to the light that scatters the darkness… Resurrection Day. The day the stone was rolled away. The day the crucified Jesus rose, laying an everlasting foundation for His Church. He who was laid stone cold dead in the tomb, sealed by a stone, is our resurrection cornerstone. The Cornerstone who joins all the children of the day to Himself and to each other. 

We are children of that day, the day of Resurrection. A day the Lord has made for rejoicing and gladness. You became a child of that day, your Resurrection day, in Baptism. In Jesus, our resurrected Lord, we see clearly, as in the day, what God has done…it is marvelous in our eyes. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, 

 that I may enter through them 

and give thanks to the Lord. 

I thank you that you have answered me 

and have become my salvation. 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; 

you are my God; I will extol you. (Psalm 118:19, 21, 28)

-Pastor Preston Paul is pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Almena, WI.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ’s words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.