Daily Prayer: a resource of Forward Movement

The Forward Day by Day Meditation for April 8, 2021

We post a Forward Day by Day Meditation for every day of the year - and we invite you to consider them and talk about them here. If you'd like to comment, you can log in to Disqus with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google account; just click "Login," or the appropriate logo below. Or, you can sign up for a Disqus account; just use the entry form below, or click the "D" logo to start the process. You can find the past week's Meditations in the box at right (or below, for mobile users), or search for previous entries on the Archives page. You can also listen to the Forward Day by Day podcast anywhere you find podcasts!

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THURSDAY, April 8 Thursday in Easter Week

Luke 24:46-47 [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Easter is, of course, the fulfillment of the first part of Jesus’ teaching here. On this Thursday in Easter Week, we know that Jesus has suffered and has risen from the dead on the third day. That’s what we’re celebrating! But what about the rest of his teaching? Have we done our part? Our track record at proclaiming repentance and forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name is mixed. We Christians occupy a lot of airtime, but do we use our voices to offer people the possibility of a new start? Do we proclaim the glad news that, in Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven? None of us needs to suffer under the burden of our sin.

We live in a world of score-keeping. People love to dismiss others when some line of behavior is crossed. But Jesus tells us that’s not how things work in the life of faith. Grace isn’t fair. There’s always a clean start if we want it.

MOVING FORWARD: Summon the courage to repent of your sins and ask God for forgiveness.

PRAY for the Diocese of Bentiu (South Sudan)

Ps 8 or 114 or 118:19-24 | Acts 3:11-26 | Luke 24:36b-48