They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief. – Matthew 17:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 9, 2014): Matthew 17

Occasionally the sports world comes up with unexpectedly good human interest stories. And one such story came out of the Cincinnati Bengals last week. As the team was making their final cuts and getting ready for the beginning of new season, it became apparent that defensive tackle Devon Still was not going to make the team. And in some ways, that was not a big surprise. In recent days Devon’s mind has been on something other than football. Back in June Still learned that his four year old daughter had stage four pediatric cancer. When the news came out last Saturday that he had been cut from the team, Still totally understood the move. The Bengals needed someone who could give 100% to football, and at this time in his life that was more than Devon Still could possible give.

But it also presented Still with a problem. Without a job there was no way that the now former football player would be able to afford the basic things of life let alone his daughter’s cancer treatments. But the Bengals were not done. Next the team made what has already been heralded as the move of the season. They signed the defensive tackle to one of their ten practice squad positions. And as a member of the practice squad Still would receive $6,300 a week as well as full health insurance coverage for his daughter. It is likely that the Cincinnati Bengals had it planned all along, And all Devon Still could say as the team announced their plans is how unbelievably grateful he is for the Bengals generosity.

Jesus speaks for a second time about his death. It was not a discussion that his disciples really wanted to be a part of, yet it was still something that needed to be said. The time was coming when the rabbi would be arrested, beaten and executed. And Jesus needed his friends to understand that when the day came and all of this came to pass that everything was still going according to plan.

And that there was a part two to the plan. On the third day after Jesus was executed (he was very specific about the timing0, he would rise again. The story was not over. There was more to come. Yet the disciples were filled with grief. They were still focused on the first part of the story – Jesus was going to die.

But when Jesus would rise from the dead, the disciple’s grief would be turned into joy. And the disciples would be grateful that there was a plan that carried beyond what they believed was the end. That even then, God was preparing a place for them.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Mark 9