YOU TURNED MY MOURNING INTO DANCING
Psalm 30.11-12
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
Invocation
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Devotion
All of us mourn at certain times in our lives.
We mourn the death of loved ones.
We mourn the death of fellow Christians in senseless acts of violence
like the shooting yesterday at a Church in Texas.
We mourn the loss of our health and our independence as we get older.
We mourn the loss of homes and jobs and all kinds of things we love.
Loss leads to mourning.
But even in our mourning
and even in the midst of loss—
God promises to turn our mourning into dancing and great joy.
God promises to take our away our mourning
and replace it with joy.
Because He has promised to take us out of this vale of tears
and deliver us into the blessedness of paradise.
So—
even in loss
even in mourning—
we praise God and give him glory.
we thank God for all his gifts.
and we wear our baptismal robes of righteousness
and our garments of salvation
with joy here and now
and with hope for the blessings of the life of the world to
come.
There will always be reasons to mourn.
And
We will always have trials and tribulations—
But God has joined us to Christ—not only in suffering and trial and tribulation and death—
He has joined to Christ by Baptism—into resurrection from the dead
and in the glory of everlasting life.
Indeed, God has turned our mourning into dancing. And in the life of the world to come—
we will dance with Christ and all the saints in the glory of almighty God. Amen.
Collect of the Day
Merciful and gracious Lord, You cause Your Word to be proclaimed in every generation. Stir up our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may receive this proclamation with humility and finally be exalted at the coming of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Blessing
Almighty God, the Father, the + Son and the Holy Spirit bless and preserve you. Amen.