“Then Came the Morning” by Luke Garrett

They all walked away, nothing to say
They’d just lost their dearest friend
All that He said. Now He was dead
So this was the way it would end

The dreams they had dreamed
Were not what they’d seemed
Now that He was dead and gone
The garden, the jail, the hammer, the nails
How could a night be so long?

The angel, the star, the kings from afar
The wedding, the water, the wine
Now it was done, they’d taken her Son
Wasted before His time

She knew it was true, she’d watched Him die too
She’d heard them call Him just a man
Oh, deep in her heart she knew from her God
Somehow her Son would live again

Then came the morning
Night turned into day
The stone was rolled away
Hope rose with the dawn

Written by Chris Christian, Bill Gaither, and Gloria Gaither

Dear God, when I wake up on Easter morning, this is the song that almost always pops in my head. I first heard it about 40 years ago when Luke Garrett came to perform for a weekend revival at our church, and he stayed with my family (I was in high school at the time). I remember driving him back and forth to the church in my old truck. He was very kind to me. A good man. He died too young. I later found out that it was written, at least in part, by Gloria and Bill Gaither. That makes sense. It sounds like a Gaither song.

I think what I’ve always liked about it is how it puts me in the story, but it spends some time with the part the Bible passes over. The 36 hours or so between the burial in the tomb and when Mary visits the tomb on Sunday morning. It’s one of my own favorite things to do when I read and ponder scripture. To put myself into their shoes and see if I can think of some of the things they are experiencing.

In this case, Jesus is dead. What was it all for? Mary, his mother. What must she have been thinking as she saw this train on the tracks for at least months if not the last three years? How did this line up with what Gabriel, the shepherds, Anna, and Simeon said to her. The only thing that might have lined up with this was Simeon’s words in the Temple in Luke 2:35: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Was this that sword?

There were the other women at the foot of the cross. There were the eleven remaining disciples. There were the other believers. There were Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. All of these people had to have been so disillusioned.

The part of the song that just says, “The dreams they had dreamed.” What were their dreams? Power? Glory? Redemption and success for Israel? If those were their dreams, they would never come back–even after the resurrection. That’s not why he came or did what he did. No, his ultimate plan would be revealed on Sunday morning, after the resurrection. He was here to be the Passover Lamb for all of us and for all time. All we need to do is metaphorically put his blood over the doors to our heart. That’s what he taught us to do. And that’s what we need to teach others to do.

Father, I’m so grateful for this morning. I’m so grateful the night turned into day. I’m so glad you didn’t fulfill their expectations and that you don’t strive to fulfill our expectations to this day. No, you know what we need, and you see life beyond this physical world and the short number of years we are here. Continue to shape and mold my mind. Help me to see what you want me to see and understand what you want me to understand. I just want to fulfill your glory for your glory’s sake.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen