EASTER 2013!

He is Risen! He is Risen INDEED!!

As we celebrated His resurrection today we focused on Mary Magdalene's experience at the Tomb. Now I've always felt a connection to the Mary who followed Jesus, both the sister of Martha and Mary Magdalene. Of course I thought that Mary Magdalene was the woman who washed and annoited Jesus' feet with her tears and expensive perfume, but I have recently learned that that woman is unnamed and believed to be a different Mary now anyway. Either way, I know that Mary Magdalene knew Jesus as an intimate friend who delivered her from seven demons (Mark 16:9). She stayed with Him at the cross well after all His male disciples but John had left. And she was the first to see Him resurrected! I love this story! In fact, a few years back I wrote a rendition of this story as though I took her place. It opened my eyes to the intimate moment when Jesus calls her by name and she recognizes Him for who He is! I imagine she ran to Him, fell to His feet, and began hugging His legs - an image that His words almost confirm when He said, "Don't cling to me!" Anyway, here's my rendition of John 20:11-18:

I woke with a start, I knew immediately that I needed to go to Jesus and pray. I threw on my tunic and headed toward His tomb. I still could not believe He was gone, I guess the impact of His death had not fully struck me. When I arrived at His tomb I was stunned to see the stone rolled away and no one standing guard! I stepped into the dark, dank cave and saw only the cloth He had been wrapped within. Who would do such a thing?! Who would not only steal away into my Lord’s tomb, but strip Him of His burial garments and take His body elsewhere?! I ran quickly to tell the disciples of this desecration and soon found two. I told them that someone had taken our Lord from His tomb and left only His robes, I told them I didn’t know where they possibly could have put Him. We headed straight back to the tomb and the disciples entered and found the linen and burial cloth folded separately and believed that He was gone, not yet knowing that He must have risen from the dead. They left to tell the others, but I stayed behind.

My grief was suddenly too much to handle and I began to weep and longed to be close to Jesus, so I bent into the tomb. I was instantly blinded by two beautiful and magnificent angels. They asked why I was crying and I told them that my Lord had been taken from His tomb, that I did not know where He was. With this I turned and saw a man I did not recognize. He also asked why I was crying, who I was looking for. I thought that he was the gardener and might know where my master was; so I told him to tell me if he knew, that I would bring Him back by myself if I had to! But the man looked at me in a familiar way and said, “Jessica." And I knew it was Him, I cried out to him, "Teacher!" and grasped Him around the middle. He had risen; I knew at once that He was back and alive forever! That I would never have to go looking for Him again, because He is always with me!! But He told me to go and tell the others that He was returning to His father and ours, to His God and ours. So I went at once and told the others this great news!