Daily Devotional for February 5

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February 5                                                        John 12:24-32

  "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler
                       of this world be cast out."

Jesus says these words after he has again taught the disciples
the paradox of the Gospel - the tension between giving and
receiving, between having and losing, between dying and
living.

The judgment of this world and the defeat of Satan occur in
the death of Jesus on the cross. This seems absurd, and yet
it is the centerpiece of God's saving work. How? In death, the
world has exercised its ultimate power and threat over Jesus,
and yet in the end Jesus conquers. In the cross, it appears the
powers of the world have won - and yet God grasps life
eternal from the hands of death by raising Jesus from the dead.
Once and for all, death is destroyed.

This triumph over death is meant to be so real for us that no
threat of death can harm or intimidate us. Neither persecution,
nor rejection, nor disease can overwhelm us, for God has
already defeated death. Dying thus becomes for us only another
experience of life, a mystery to embrace as we move on to
closeness with God.

           O God, settle in my heart this day my own
          fears of dying, so that I may live in the hope
 of life eternal. I choose today to live without fear. I trust
   that death has no power over me. My faith is in your
          victory. May your victory be visible in my life.

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From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.1989