I am a morning person, don't hate me. I know others have different biological programming, but I am at my best in the morning. It is my favorite time of day. For me... there is something holy in the break of day. For those in the country, it might mean a rooster crows or the cats meow at the door for breakfast. In town, the street lamps dim and go to sleep as the sun begins to rise. There is a calm and quiet about the moment that stills my heart. It is a time of worship. It is a time of gratitude.
It won't be long and the scent of dew on the morning lawn will fill our noses with delight. It passes quickly, so we must intentionally pause to take it in with something close to reverence. Then the sun begins to peep up from the landscape. Here in the flat Midwest, is a glorious appearing with great views. It can be savored on an interstate commute or from the farmyard window or porch. I adore daybreak for the feeling of newness and hope.
We are in the season known as lent, the forty days before Easter. The entire Christian community is reflecting and revisiting the events surrounding the Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. Isn't it kind of crazy that our faith is often represented by an instrument of torture and death? Three men died on crosses that day. From a distance, no one could tell one from the other. Two were experiencing the wages of sin, and the third, was fighting a holy war to redeem the lost, broken and defeated. It was the blood shed in atonement and sealing a new covenant between God and humans. The victory was declared when not only the cross was empty... but so was the tomb. It was discovered at daybreak.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. -Luke 24:1-3
Can you picture it? Hands and hearts full of purpose, only to discover Jesus was not there. The stone was rolled away and the death linens folded. What a strange way to declare victory.
The men had to check it out. This is what John records:
and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. - John 20:7
Imagine the soft, golden light of morning illuminating the empty tomb. When did they move from feelings of wonder to seeds of hope? Did all the things he told them about what was to happen, finally begin to make sense in the light of a new day.
Oh, it was a new day. A daybreak like no other! The truth of the resurrection would soon be revealed to each one of them. Death had been conquered and hope was alive. The sin debt paid in full, not for one man or woman... but for all generations who would come and "believe without seeing". It happened at daybreak.
There are things I cannot really know or understand, but when the sun rises each morning, I am reminded that a new day is another chance to try again, love a little more and serve Him with whole hearts. For me, it is a sacred time.
Today, I am grateful daybreak.
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