Daily Devotion - March 9 Easter Every Day   Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 The God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," . . . has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. -2 Corinthians 4:6 "REMEMBER you are dust and to dust you shall return," said the minister on Ash Wednesday. With this, a season of repentance began, calling us to remember our sin, our mortality, our need for a Savior. Two weeks later, we gathered for a memorial service of one of our long-time members. In her 92 years, she had always followed the motto, "When it's your time to go, it's your time to go." The Bible puts it this way: "For everything there is a season ... a time to be born, and a time to die" (Eccl. 3:1-2, NRSV). The timing of this memorial service reminded me of when Jesus entered the Temple, enraged to see the way Jewish religious practice had been perverted into an opportunity to make money. (See John 2:13-22.) At that time, he had literally swept aside what had become an accepted custom. In a way, those gathered at the memorial service were also sweeping something aside - the order and tradition of Lent. By celebrating the resurrection of our sister into new life, we had injected Easter into the middle of Lent. Light and hope were springing forth in the midst of darkness. We were able to celebrate her eternal life in the midst of our solemn journey toward the cross. Paul Wayne Meier (Kentucky, USA) Risen Christ, you brought us new life through your death on the cross. May our practices during Lent help make us new people in you. Amen.   Every day is a good day to celebrate the Resurrection.   Those who taught me about God