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.

John 20:1

The Stone is Gone!

It’s a mystery that Mary encounters that first Easter morning. She comes in the dark, ready to tend to the body of Jesus with herbs and spices, according to ritual, and she sees that the tomb has been disturbed. What could have made the very heavy stone disappear? Mary is afraid, and runs for help. That’s what we would probably do too.

But the helpers she enlists, some of the disciples, though they try to help, don’t know the answer either, and eventually they leave. Mary sits alone and allows her grief to flow. She lets herself cry for the loss of Jesus. And that moment is the moment in which she finally sees Jesus – talking with her, standing next to her, full of a different kind of life.

Mary becomes the first proclaimer of the good news! She is sent to tell the disciples “I have seen the Risen Lord!” In the resurrection, we see that love and light and hope can break in anywhere and everywhere, meet us in our grief, and turn what we thought we knew upside down.

Christ is Risen
Christ is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter!
Alleluia! Amen!

Prayer: O Lord, Help me take in the good news that is Easter! Help me let myself dwell deeply in the love and light and hope of the Resurrection. In Jesus Name, Amen

Reflection Questions:

1. What part of your life needs to hear the promise of Resurrection today?
2. Who in your life do you want to pray takes in the good news of Easter?
3. Can the Easter story meet whatever grief you are experiencing, see it, and bring love and light and hope to meet it?