Daniel 12:1-3 (NRSV)
Read Daniel 12:1-3 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 12"At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Verse 2Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Verse 3Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Devotion
I can remember as a boy many things that scared me. As I have grown older now, there are still things that scare me—albeit most are different things than when I was a boy. Truth be told, we all have things that scare us. We all have moments when being scared has the potential to bind us and hold it over us. The words of Daniel 12 come to us from a community in anguish and scared of the things happening around them. The great apocalyptic visions of heroic princes and names written in the book served to comfort the people in the midst of their being scared. God has not forsaken them; in fact, God continues to fight for them and on the final day, when the trumpet sounds, God will indeed raise them from the dead with their lights shining like the bright sky and shining stars.
That goes for you and me too. In the midst of our scary (and scariest!) moments of life, God remains ever present with us allowing nothing, not even death, to extinguish the everlasting light that shines from our baptisms. That is the hope we claim and boldly live, even when we are scared.
Prayer
Ever present God, we thank you for your presence among us, even when we are scared. Remind us in the scary moments of life that you shine in our darkness, and that nothing will be able to extinguish our lights that rest in your promise. Amen.