It's Good Friday, and if we have spent time with Jesus during Lent, we have been mindful of Him and the decisions that led Him to the Cross. With all the suffering in the world, sometimes we may think that the trials and pain of one man so long ago doesn't mean much. But maybe we have been given the faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Perhaps we have been given the grace to truly know in our hearts that He lived, taught, suffered and died to reconcile people and all of creation to the Creator who is Love. Then we might look at His life and what happened to Him in a different light. We can go to the Cross in prayer and meditation. We can look up at His face. We may be given the gift of seeing the love in His eyes.
And if we move through the time between His death and His coming to life again in an attentive way, we might experience the deep grief of those who loved Him when He walked on earth. In meditation we can go before dawn to the tomb with the women who were so very close to Him. We can be surprised and shocked with them to see the huge boulder rolled away. Finally, we might be given the present of mistaking Him for the gardener, hearing His voice call our names, and seeing Him again. What joy!
May the Lord continue to bless, keep and inspire you to receive all the gifts of faith, love, peace and joy this Easter and always.
In Christ -- Kathy
On That Resurrection Morning
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:1-18 NRSV [http://bible.oremus.org/]
Kathleen Ware Harris © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment