“Who is it you are looking for?” John 20:15
The sun light was just visible through the cracks in the wooden windows. Doves and sparrows greeted the fresh day with their calls. Yet this morning, they seemed like they were singing a new song of celebration.
Peter stirred and forced his eyes open and looked around the room. “Mary, where is Mary?” His mind raced to the first encounter she had with Jesus when He healed her of demons and a immoral lifestyle. Did she run away embarassed or doubtul that she put her trust in Jesus?
He slowly unbolted the door making sure there were no enemies prowling outside waiting to devour he and the others hidding inside. Suddenly he saw Mary running toward him, breathless and filled with confusion as she shouted “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb!” She had been there since it was dark with burial spices to sweeten the smell of death. Little did she know that she would soon experience the living Savior.
Peter and John ran to the tomb, most likely causing a panic inside the room while others awoke. When they arrived and descended inside, they didn’t see Jesus. Was Mary right? Yet she, the one who hid from society and any hope that Jesus could forgive her, stood outside the tomb. “Woman,” she heard someone say. “Why are your crying? Who is it you are looking for?” She turned, not recognizing Jesus due to her tears and downcast glance, then heard the soft, recognizable and loving greeting “Mary”. She looked up with a joyous smile that relfected the beautiful sunrise cresting over Calvary bringing with it the promise that this day would be different. Jesus was alive.
God selected Mary, the outcast sinner, to be the first to encounter the resurrected Christ who came to redeem all. She ran to tell the others “I have seen the Lord!” Word must have spread quickly as followers began to appear excitingly sharing their stories of how Jesus impacted their lives.
As we celebrate Easter, I pray that we can all simply turn, face Jesus with joy and acknowledge our need for Him in our lives, and then share with others what He means to us.
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Jesus is risen. He has risen indeed. Happy Easter.
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