Daily Devotional: Friday, April 10, 2026

Year A | Easter Season

Today’s Lectionary Readings

Readings sourced from the Vanderbilt Revised Common Lectionary

• Psalm 16: A prayer of trust and the "path of life."
• Song of Solomon 5:9–6:3: Seeking and finding the Beloved.
• 1 Corinthians 15:1–11: The tradition and testimony of the resurrection.

Reflection: "Whose Are You?"

In the Song of Solomon, the daughters of Jerusalem pose a poignant question: “What is your beloved more than another beloved?” It is an honest inquiry sparked by observing someone whose love is so transformative that it shapes their entire being. The Shulammite’s response is not a theological treatise; rather, she describes her beloved with intimate detail—his eyes, his voice, his presence. She knows him through the experience of being loved.

Most people understand the ache of searching for something lost. It is the 3:00 am moment of reaching for a presence no longer there, or the long stretches where prayer feels like a voicemail left in silence. The Shulammite experiences this too: “I sought him, but found him not; I called him, but he gave no answer.” Yet, she eventually arrives at a profound realization through the patient work of love: “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” Even when she cannot feel his presence, the relationship remains the ground she stands upon.

In a modern world where the noise of news cycles, digital pressures, and endless tasks competes for our attention, it is difficult to keep the Divine “always before” us. The Easter season speaks into this distraction by insisting that the Risen One continues to appear in the gardens, locked rooms, and lonely roads of our everyday lives.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reinforces this personal connection. He does not present the resurrection as a cold, historical fact but as a lived experience witnessed by real people: Cephas, the twelve, five hundred believers, James, and finally, Paul himself. Notably, Paul anchors his testimony in his own unworthiness, stating he is “unfit to be called an apostle.” Yet, grace interrupted his story. The encounter with the Living Christ did not bypass his history; it reframed it.

Psalm 16 serves as the hinge for this reflection: “I keep the Lord always before me... you show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy.” Keeping the Lord before us is an active discipline of orientation. It is the act of sitting still long enough to be identified not by what we have done, but by whom we belong.

Prayer

Risen Christ, in this Easter season, teach me not just to believe in you, but to know you so deeply that I might describe your grace to others. When I feel lost, remind me that you are already present in the garden of my life. When I feel unworthy, remind me that you appeared to the broken and the doubting alike. I am yours, and you are mine. Amen.