November 18, 2024

Today's Reading: Daniel 12:1-3

Daily Lectionary: Jeremiah 37:1-21; Revelation 17:1-18; Matthew 27:33-56

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Here, at the end of Daniel, we have yet another vision of what the end times will bring— something that tends to bring many people fear and trepidation. But for the Christian, there is a beautiful truth here in Daniel 12 of what awaits us. Now, I know there is a lot of preaching and teaching done proclaiming that the goal of the Christian life is to “die and go to heaven,” but this isn’t what Christ’s eventual return will bring. At least, not according to Daniel.

If we remember well enough, Daniel is filled with some of our favorite Bible stories. There is the account of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, who were thrown into the fiery furnace, only to be joined by a fourth person, and the fire left them miraculously unharmed. There is the account of Daniel praying, even though it was against the law and his punishment was to be thrown into a den filled with hungry lions, and God miraculously shut their mouths. But did you know that Daniel also has the account of Easter?

Of course, it isn’t the account of Jesus rising from the dead, but it points to the final Easter, the ultimate Resurrection when all who believe in Christ will be called out of their graves. This is the ultimate hope of the Christian life. To not only “die and go to heaven” but to be raised from the dead, body and soul reunited, being raised to new life wholly human. On Easter, Christ defeated death for all, and on the Last Day, death will be swallowed up forever. Only then will all creation be made new, and only then will every tongue confess, and every knee will bow. Daniel, so many years before Jesus is born, reveals to us the end, the goal. He reveals the Resurrection, your Resurrection. This is the end goal of the Christian life. In Baptism, we receive the Gift of heaven. When we die, we will rest in the arms of the Father, and on the Last Day, we will be raised from the dead in body and soul and will spend eternity in the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

City of God, Easter forever, Golden Jerusalem, Jesus the Lamb, River of life, Saints and archangels, Sing with creation to God the I Am! Jesus is risen and we shall arise, Give God the glory! Alleluia! (LSB 474:5)

-Rev. Caleb Weight, associate pastor of Peace In Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown, MN.

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

Spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word throughout the Church Year with the Enduring Grace Journal. Includes scripture readings, prayers, prompts, and space for journaling. The Church Year Journal, Enduring Grace, now available from Concordia Publishing House.