"Hook, Line & Sinker"“ …as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Mt 12:40) How do you think that old whale felt before burping Jonah onto the beach? Probably better afterward! It’s interesting how much that true story has been redeployed - even by our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself. Its imagery captures the essence of Jesus’ atoning death & resurrection. In the 4th century, Bishop Gregory of Nyssa developed this maritime metaphor even more by describing our enemy, the devil, as a gluttonous fish that is lured by the flesh of Christ as bait. Luther then takes the details even further in his day when he allegorizes the whole scene: the worm is the humanity of Christ; the hook His divinity. The devil says, “should I not swallow the little worm?” He did not see the hook, nor the trouble he’d have digesting divinity in the belly of the earth! Turns out, Jesus who died on the cross like “a worm and no man” (Ps 22:6) was indigestible! The devil fell for it - hook, line & sinker. And our last enemy, the grave, spit our Lord Jesus out before His holy body could see corruption. All our age-old enemies: sin, death & the devil were soundly & roundly vanquished. Hallelujah! Jesus lives and reigns. He has become our Victory! As you bask in the glow of Easter victory, we invite you into a little “reader’s digest.” We’ve broken our April Words of Peace into bite-sized chunks for you. Click the front page & bon appétit! - Pastor Mike