DAILY READING
REFLECTION
He Is Risen!
by Elaine Pierce
How different will your Easter be from the first Easter? I'm guessing you will wear something springlike (even if it's snowing - it's Ohio in March, after all) and you will enjoy brunch with family and friends. If you have little ones in your life, no doubt you will have fun planning an Easter egg hunt. Oh, and of course, you will go to church. And it will be much more crowded than usual, and someone might even be sitting in "your" seat.
Those are all fun and happy things to do, but they are not the focus of Easter. The women - Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome - these women were doing what Jewish women had been doing for centuries - caring for the dead, honoring their loved ones. They no more expected to see "a young man dressed in a white robe" at the entrance of the tomb than they expected to see pigs flying! And then - to increase their fear and wonder - the young man told them this:
"Don't be alarmed [easier said than done]. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here." (Mark 16:6)
I bet they dropped their spices right there at the entrance of the tomb, as they fled in panic and uncertainty. Mark tells us they were "trembling and bewildered." We know from the other gospel accounts that eventually they told the disciples what had happened, and the women saw the risen Christ, and joined others in worship, in hope, and in joy that their savior had risen.
So today as you gather to worship, to fellowship and to enjoy the Easter festivities, take some time to sit at the empty tomb and listen to the young man, the angel, dressed in white. He is not here. He has risen! Thank the Lord for this incredible gift, and humbly tell others he loves them and this gift is theirs -the gift that lasts for all eternity.
PRAYER
Lord, Easter is so much more than bunnies, candy and egg hunts. Help us to sit at the empty tomb and marvel that you are not there - you have risen, just as you said you would. Thank you for the gift of life, and help us on holy days and "regular" days to worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.
