Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (John 20:1-9)
I cannot think of how it can be said any better than I said it last year:
Easter. What can you say about Easter that hasn't been said? How do you keep it from becoming just another holiday, with holiday rituals in which you participate without really thinking about it much? If the disciples, who were there, didn't understand, how can we expect to two thousand years later? Oh, I know, we have two thousand years of people explaining the facts to us, but how do we make it personal? How do we run to the tomb in our own minds? Do we stand outside like the beloved disciple, do we charge right in like Peter, or do we anxiously remain in the garden ever after the disciples left, like Mary Magdalene? I find myself wishing to be like Mary, sitting quietly with the enormity of it all, trying to figure it out and being the first to encounter Jesus.
I think this is part of why God didn't raise Jesus from the dead on the same day that He died. This is Real. We need to deal with that reality as something more than in item checked off the divine "To Do" list. We claim we know that Jesus rose from the dead. It's what we celebrate every Easter, but if we're not careful, we'll rush in and out like the disciples, and still not understand.
Cause me to be like Mary Magdalene, Lord, who waited in the garden, trying to figure out what was happening, who was willing to humiliate herself before a custodian in order to love You. Speak to me in the garden of my heart. Make Yourself, and Your resurrection real to my soul.
For your enjoyment, here's an Easter Concert of some of my favorites
Watch The Lamb (Ray Boltz)
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord (Mahalia Jackson)
Rise Again (Dallas Holm)
Arise, My Love (Newsong)
Up From The Grave He Arose
Was It A Morning Like This (Sandi Patti)
Easter Song (Second Chapter Of Acts)
He Is Risen (Mathew Maher)
He's Alive (Don Francisco)
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (Steve Green) Hallelujah Chorus
He Is Still Risen
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (John 20:1-9)
I cannot think of how it can be said any better than I said it last year:
Easter. What can you say about Easter that hasn't been said? How do you keep it from becoming just another holiday, with holiday rituals in which you participate without really thinking about it much? If the disciples, who were there, didn't understand, how can we expect to two thousand years later? Oh, I know, we have two thousand years of people explaining the facts to us, but how do we make it personal? How do we run to the tomb in our own minds? Do we stand outside like the beloved disciple, do we charge right in like Peter, or do we anxiously remain in the garden ever after the disciples left, like Mary Magdalene? I find myself wishing to be like Mary, sitting quietly with the enormity of it all, trying to figure it out and being the first to encounter Jesus.
I think this is part of why God didn't raise Jesus from the dead on the same day that He died. This is Real. We need to deal with that reality as something more than in item checked off the divine "To Do" list. We claim we know that Jesus rose from the dead. It's what we celebrate every Easter, but if we're not careful, we'll rush in and out like the disciples, and still not understand.
Cause me to be like Mary Magdalene, Lord, who waited in the garden, trying to figure out what was happening, who was willing to humiliate herself before a custodian in order to love You. Speak to me in the garden of my heart. Make Yourself, and Your resurrection real to my soul.
For your enjoyment, here's an Easter Concert of some of my favorites
Watch The Lamb (Ray Boltz)
Were You There When They Crucified My Lord (Mahalia Jackson)
Rise Again (Dallas Holm)
Arise, My Love (Newsong)
Up From The Grave He Arose
Was It A Morning Like This (Sandi Patti)
Easter Song (Second Chapter Of Acts)
He Is Risen (Mathew Maher)
He's Alive (Don Francisco)
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (Steve Green) Hallelujah Chorus
He Is Still Risen
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