Colossians 3:1-4; Matthew 28:1-10
… Mary and Mary Magdalene were finally able to go to the tomb, the morning after the sabbath ended. They had gone just to be there to grieve, as many of us do when our loved ones die. From a distance, everything looked normal. There was the tomb with the stone in place to keep grave robbers and animals out. There were the guards the leaders insisted on posting.
Suddenly, the earth shook as an angel rolled the stone away to
expose the tomb. The guards were stunned to silence, frozen in place with fear.
Then the angel spoke to the women, “Don’t
be afraid. Jesus is not here, he has been raised, just as he promised.” In other words, I know you are surprised, but Jesus
did tell you many times that he would rise after his suffering and death.
The angel continued, “Go and tell the disciples what you
have seen and heard. And to head to Galilee, where he will meet with you.” So,
Mary and Mary turned and ran to find Peter and the other disciples. As they
were on the way, Jesus appeared and spoke with them. Once again, it’s “Surprise!”
The women bow to the ground to worship him.
Jesus speaks words of reassurance, “Don’t be afraid. And
then he gives an assignment. “Go and tell the disciples that I will see them in
Galilee.” I’m sure there was more conversation, but this is all Matthew
reports.
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The Easter surprise that Jesus has been raised/is
risen. The tomb is empty!
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The women – who are not permitted to be legal
witnesses without their husbands or fathers to authorize their message – are the
first to see the risen Jesus.
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The women obey – given good news, they are sent
to share it with the rest of the disciples.
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Peter and the other disciples won’t know about
the risen Jesus until the women tell them so.
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The women are filled with conflicting emotions –
both fear and joy.
We may be tempted to think that this resurrection of Jesus is a one-and-done event. But - surprise! – with our baptism into the life of Christ, resurrection is a renewing, forever happening. We are called by faith to have the mind of Christ, to live by standards based on a divine perspective. We make choices in life, in our relationships, in our behavior, based on this baptized relationship with Jesus/God.
When we live a resurrection life, we are Jesus’ hands and feet and voice in our present world, in our daily life, in every contact we have with people. And because we live in a resurrection world, we can be on the lookout for divine surprises.
… For example, I recently reconnected with a friend who lives in California. She had a new Facebook page, and I sent her a message saying I had been wondering about her safety with all the fires. We gave life updates and now pray for each other, and she has a ministry of sending cards – snail mail! -monthly to several folks on her prayer list. Her blessing always comes as a wonderful surprise for me.
… It was a divine surprise for me when I saw this message from the crew of Artemis II. Mission Pilot Victor Glover, the first African American to travel to the moon, said, “From up here you all look amazing and beautiful. And you look like one thing. Homo sapiens is what we all are, no matter where we come from or what we look like. We are one people. This mission gives us something to hold on to and say: look what we did. We call the great human achievements moonshots for a reason: because they unite us and prove what we can accomplish together.”
It is wonderful to hear about unity in the current atmosphere of division in the country and around the world. It’s a reminder that we are not all fighting with each other, and that God is present in many ways with us. We just have to be on the lookout for God’s surprises.
