Friday in the Octave of Easter

R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
R. Alleluia.

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. This is an astonishing statement, the center of the Christian story. Jesus, Son of God, rejected and put to death, defeated death itself and became the anchor upon which all future generations might rest their hope. It’s a motif that’s echoed in the lives of other biblical characters, not to mention the canonized, and, of course, can also be found in the sequences of our own lives.

There are so many ways to unpack this, but given the light of this Octave week following the world-breaking events of Resurrection Sunday, I want to focus on the abundance of the Resurrection itself, an abundance we often don’t expect and even more often can’t predict. The other readings accompanying this Psalm today speak of a Christ who had returned from the dead only to surprise his devastated disciples one after the next—not just in the fact of his revealing that he was alive in the flesh, but in fish overflowing the nets, in healings, in the sweep of the Holy Spirit conquering souls and leading them to new and whole life. Out of the deepest depths, deepest darkness, final death and utter agony, there is One who is greater still. Who lives to make intercession on our behalf and redeem each part of our lives, and loves, that dwell in shadow, disorder or fear.

There is hope, eternal and imminent hope. One who died has been risen. So, too, will be the final whistle on our journeys.

Reflected by Anne Snyder