Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today, I am impressed by how apt and applicable today’s Old Testament reading is to our own day: Micah 7:7-15.

In the midst of a time of decadence in the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Micah speaks in recognizable terms about God’s deliverance. His prayer is one that we can read and understand ourselves. In spite of his own sinfulness, in spite of falling, Micah says that “yet I will rise,” that even “if I should sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

Even as the prophet of God, Micah admits that he must endure “the wrath of the Lord, for I sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause.” Yet he is confident that God will “execute judgement” on his behalf, that God will “bring him out into the light, and I will perceive His righteousness.”

Even in this current age of darkness, when the temporary effects of sin and death surround us and sometimes pull us down, making us stumble and fall, yet we know that as we continue to call out to God in repentance, he will bring us “out into the light,” that uncreated light that burst forth from the tomb on Easter Day, even as Christ destroyed the power of sin and death.

This timely message gives us hope, both in reflective times, such as Lent, or even in the bright glow of this Easter week. In both times, we sense the “already/not yet” nature of the glorious redemption we have been given, and we recognize our ongoing sinfulness in the light of Jesus’ victory over death.

May Christ have mercy on us in our failings and bring us into his into his glorious light.

Kyrie eleison!

Yours in Christ,

—Justin