Not the End…

Today’s message was written by the Rev. Dr. Roger Kunkle, founder of Dial Hope.

Gracie Allen once said, “Don’t put a period where God put a comma.”

Friend of Dial Hope, that was the message of Holy Week. Don’t put a period where God put a comma. The arrest of Jesus was not the end. The trial of Jesus was not the end. The crucifixion of Jesus was not the end. The burial of Jesus was not the end. God said, “No, that’s not a period. It’s just a comma. It’s not over. I’ve got a surprise for you. I’ve got a resurrection for you. It’s not over. I’ve only just begun.

That’s why we come to God in the spirit of humility saying, “Thy will, O God be done,” because God knows what we cannot know and sees what we cannot see. Someone once said that we are like a fly crawling across an oil painting. We are so close to it, we can’t see the big picture. God can, and so whatever is your stuck point… an illness, grief, loneliness, despair, the best prayer is, “Thy will, O God, be done.”

Let us pray: God of Easter, save us from a saccharine, sanctimonious, social celebration of what should be a saving, spiritual transformation. Thank you for Easter’s teaching and truth that tragedy, testings, troubles, and trials, can be transformed into triumph. That, with your help, our periods are only commas. Energize and empower us to say, “Thy will be done.” in the name of the risen Christ. Amen.