He is Risen!

One of my favorite scenes in the scriptures is that moment when Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb of Jesus. She comes with certain - and absolutely reasonable - expectations. She has just gone through the most horrific experience of her life, to see her Lord arrested, tortured and crucified. She must have been an incredibly strong woman for she never left the foot of the cross but remained all through his agony, all through his suffering, and through his death.

The rest of the disciples had fled, except for John. After Jesus died they had hidden in the Upper Room, devastated by failure and paralyzed by fear. Mary waited until the end of the Passover and in the wee hours of Sunday morning, went to her last act of devotion and love for her Lord, to prepare His body for a decent burial. She had not been able to do this when Jesus had been taken off the cross, for it was close to sunset and Passover was not yet over. She had to wait through that agonizing Saturday, perhaps reliving over and over again all the things she had witnessed. Was she with the rest of the disciples or had she gone somewhere else, perhaps with Mary, the mother of Jesus, to console one another in their grief. Since Jesus had charged John with looking after his mother, it would make sense that Jesus' mother was with John and that Mary Magdalene was with Mary.

But at some point as the sun rose on the new day, Mary had gone to the tomb to prepare Jesus' body for burial. She must have been preparing herself for this, a custom amongst her people. She was distraught, grief-stricken, and shocked - but nothing would stand in her way from what she expected of herself, in these final hours to show one more time her love for her Lord.

And so she approaches the tomb when she realizes that the large stone would block her entrance and she would need help in rolling the stone away. Who would help her? Perhaps she had asked the disciples to come with her, but they had been slow to respond - and so she had gone alone, struggling to think through how she would be able to enter the tomb when a stone too heavy for her to move blocking her way.

She approaches the tomb and stops, stunned. The stone has been rolled away. She is again horrified - it was worse than anything she could have imagined. Enemies had come in the night and stolen Jesus' body. She sees what she takes to be gardeners working and screams at them to tell her where they have taken her Lord, but they just smile and tell her "He's not here."

Of course He's not here, and begs them to tell her where He is so she can go and get Him herself. Finally she throws herself into the tomb and sees the empty grave clothes, grave clothes she had prepared for Him in haste on Friday. But He is no where and she is horrified and overwhelmed with despair.

"What are you looking for?" she hears a man say to her, a man who stands at the door of the tomb. Thinking it is one of the gardeners, she cries out to Him, "They have taken him away and I don't know where they put him!" She looked at the man standing there, in despair and fear.

"Woman," the man said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Mary looked at the man she thought to be the gardener who had come to the tomb. "Sir, please, tell me where you've put him, please tell where you put him and I will go get him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."

This is the moment that always reduces me to tears. Jesus calls her by name and when he does she turns to him and immediately recognizes him. She cries out to him, Robboni! Teacher.

We can assume that she throws herself on him, holding on to Him. I know I would. I've just watched him suffer, die, and perhaps be taken from His own grave - and now here He is, alive! Alive! I would certainly hold on to Him and not let go.

Jesus response is so wonderful. He assures her He's not going anywhere at the moment when he tells her to let go, that He's not yet returned to the Father. Immediately He gives her instructions - not to hold on to Him for He will not abandon her, but to go and tell the disciples that He is risen - that death has not destroyed Him.

And so Mary is the first witness, the first evangelist, the first person charged by Jesus Christ to proclaim the good news, that Jesus is Risen!

Have we been with Mary in the tomb and in that moment of despair, of loss, of unmet expectations? Do we know that moment when we see for ourselves that He is risen? Do we then find the power of the resurrection, of His Resurrection, and the mission of our life when that power is known - to share the Good News to all who will hear?

Today is the Day.
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen!
Christ is Risen!
Hallelujah!

Or as Mr. Dylan wrote:

When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
He said, "All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth."
Did they know right then and there what that power was worth?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe?
When He rose from the dead, did they believe?

bb