Pastor Nate Walther

¹⁷ I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord… ²² The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. ²³ This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. ²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118)

Perhaps those words made you do a double take.  It’s not that the words are unfamiliar, we hear them every year in church, but usually we hear these words around Easter.  So why now?

Why not!  The thing about these words is that they weren’t written on Easter either – they were written nearly thousand years beforehand.  Granted, they picture the certain victory that God provides to us over the grave.  They make it clear that this victory is found in the “stone which the builders rejected”, Jesus!  And they highlight that it is entirely a work of the Lord and not a matter of our own works (or lack thereof). 

But if you read the remainder of the Psalm—and take some time to do so during the week—the Psalmist talks about all the pressure he faces from life and from people around him, replete with references like being “hard pressed”, “surrounded” and “swarmed like bees”, or “chastened severely”.   He doesn’t quite describe a festive occasion to celebrate. Yet, still, he proclaims Easter joy…  Why?

It’s because Easter makes every day a day on which we can proclaim, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it!”  Because of Easter, every day has hope.  Because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross & empty tomb, we know that every problem will be resolved – even the problems we cause by our own sin.  Because he is our cornerstone, God has built for us an eternal structure that will withstand every storm we face.

It’s not just true on Easter.  It’s true every day of our lives. It’s true every Sunday, which is why we treat every worship service like a mini-Easter Sunday, filled with references to forgiveness, resurrection, and new life.  It’s true even on random weekdays in July.   It’s true if you’re sick & suffering today, and equally true if you’re enjoying a day of vacation with family and nice weather. 

So—in reference to our recent Pentecost series—say it out loud!  (Maybe it would even be a good idea to get into the habit of saying this every morning when you wake up to properly ground yourself…)  “This is the day the lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”