Oh Mary, what must it have been like for you early this morning to find his body missing from the tomb? I think you were so brave visiting the garden in the dark and by yourself. Only a few days before, your friend and teacher had been unfairly tried, publicly humiliated and crucified as a common criminal. How dreadful that another very close to him betrayed him to the very religious leaders who had been plotting to execute him.
I can only imagine how devastated you must have felt to arrive in the garden to discover that his body had now disappeared. How Mary did you manage to focus through all those tears to notice the two sitting inside the tomb where your friend’s body had previously lain? Where you frightened when the two-angels dressed in white, spoke to you? I am curious: why didn’t they appear to Peter also when he peered into the empty tomb?
I can only imagine the shock Mary when the presumed gardener turned out to be your very-much-alive teacher, friend, Lord and your God. I get goose bumps when I imagine what his voice must have sounded like when he greeted you by name. Mary, you were the first to see the resurrected Jesus Christ, with his nailed scarred hands and hole in his side. His suffering was not an aberration; neither was his presence this morning.
I can only imagine how afraid you were and how much joy you were filled with when you realised you had seen the risen Lord. What an amazing morning Mary.
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Today is Easter Sunday. Christian churches across the world celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection. The same God that created the world loved us so much that He gave his only Son to die (and rise) for us. Anyone who believes in Him will not die but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
The message of Easter is not restricted to a long weekend filled with chocolate bunnies and eggs. It is a message for all year and all of life. How wonderful that the same risen Lord Jesus Christ, that called Mary by her name, can be our friend, teacher, Lord and God as well.
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