In an old poem by John Masefield, entitled “The Widow in the Bye Street,” there is a scene of dramatic agony. A young man is about to be executed for crimes against the state, and in the crowd that is gathered to witness this horrific event stands his widowed mother who is about to be left all alone in the world. When the trap door opened and the rope finished its work, the mother crumpled to the ground and began to sob uncontrollably, and those nearby heard her say something about, “broken things, too broke to mend.”
Part of this anguish had to do with the past; But an even greater part of that anguish had to do with the future and the utter sense of hopelessness that was now closing in upon her. It’s an awful thing to feel that your very existence is not just broken, but broken beyond repair. It’s to find yourself at a certain juncture in life—there’s a past and a present, but there’s no future—nothing at all out ahead in which to look forward.
I know a lot of things may seem broken just now—I hear your concerns about your hopes, families, love lives, your health. I know for some the future looks terrible—nothing but a lot of gravestones out there—far too heavy to move.
But, my friends, there is also a God! God is a factor in the shaping of tomorrow. There is power enough and mercy enough in God to deal with whatever brokenness we have experienced in the past—the baggage we carry with us to this place today—and whatever brokenness we’ll confront in the future.
It was Jesus who died on the first Good Friday. But on Easter, it was the need to face our hurts and problems alone that died. Forever more God is with us! And nothing will be able to separate us from the Love of God! Not even the gravestones that line our paths.
What broken thing is there too “broke” for God, who raised Jesus Christ from the dead? What broken thing is there too “broke” for God to mend? Nothing at all!
There is a future, there is hope, there is Good News, for we have a Risen Savior who will be with us to celebrate the joys and help us face our fears! Therefore, if God almighty is for us, who can be against us? In our words and in our deeds, come alive: Christ is risen! Christ is risen, risen indeed!
Shalom, Paul