So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Mark 16:8
New dresses. Pretty bows. Eggs hidden and hunted. Marvelous music. Wonderful worship. A Great family dinner.
These are the images of Easter that many of us associate with the church’s most significant holy day. It is a wonderful uplifting day that reminds us that there are new beginnings and that the winter is almost over. What we forget though is that this was not the response of those who first encountered the message of the resurrection.
In Mark’s telling of the tale three women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome all went to the tomb in order to anoint Jesus’ body with oil. Jesus had died and been entombed so quickly that the normal and customary burial rituals had not been undertaken. As they approached, things seemed wrong…out of place. The stone had been rolled away. There was a young man sitting where Jesus ought to have been. His message was disturbing. He told them that Jesus was resurrected and that he would be waiting for the women and the disciples in Galilee.
Their response is not what we might expect. Instead of jumping for joy and shouting, “Praise the Lord”, they fled in terror and told no one. How could that be, we ask. How in the face of this raising of Jesus could anyone be afraid? The answers are numerous.
They were terrified because this event caught them by surprise. They were terrified because Jesus’ rising from the dead meant that the fundamental principles of life and death had been changed. It meant that God’s Kingdom was breaking in around them. It meant that life as they had known it would never be the same. It might in fact mean a religious and political upheaval that would imperil them and their families.
This Easter, I hope we will try and see the day through the eyes of these women; not meaning that we should be terrified but that we would allow ourselves to stand in awe of this event that changed not only the course of humanity but of creation itself. So this Easter amid the dresses, flowers, songs and meals, let’s stand in awe of God’s amazing, world-changing, life-affirming act of raising Jesus from the dead.
Prayer: Dear God, we are grateful on this Easter day that your love for the world could not be defeated by death. Help us to stand in awe of your amazing grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
John Judson (2014)
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