A reading from the book of John Chapter 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
Meditation
He has risen and we can say Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia! I think of Mary Magdalein distraught and exhausted over the death of her Lord. Then, to add to her anguish, His body is missing. But then a glorious thing happens. He isn't missing. His body wasn't stolen. He has risen from the dead! How she rejoices and clings to our Lord. But not for long. This is only a foretaste of what's to come.
Personal Reflection
5 comments:
Happy easter to you! :D
Thanks Zombie! You too. :-)
"if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from among the dead, thou shalt be saved", Romans 10: 9. And there is no doubt about it!
Its amazing...The two Mary's one being the mother of Christ, and her sister Salome, who was the mother of this John who wrote the gospels..The stone was rolled away. The guards had run off in terror, and the grave was empty. Do you know who the head of the first Christian church was? And the name of this church?? Read Acts 24:5.. Churches used to be known as sects..and there were a great variety of Jewish sects.. Then came the first Christian one after the death and resurrection of our Lord.
Today, all who follow Jesus, are called Christians (Christ followers. But in the ancient days, they were known as, The Sect of the Nazarene. Because, He, Jesus, came from Nazareth. Blessings Sr CM
Crystal Mary, you are correct that there were many Jewish sects and the Jews thought that Christianity was going to be another sect which is why they initially called Jesus a ringleader of a "Nazorean sect." But for us Christians to say it was just another sect limits the powers of our Lord. Jesus founded a KINGDOM not just another sect. Was King David just a king of another Jewish sect? No, he ran majestic Kingdom. And when a king in the line of David had to leave the kingdom he appointed a prime minister who received the keys to the kingdom. See Isaiah 22:15-25.
Look how Jesus left Peter the keys to the KINGDOM MT 16:16-19 Peter was appointed the prime minister of this new Heavenly kingdom. So Christianity was only one faith with one King and one prime minister who was given the authority on earth to bind and loose. The Christian faith spread as ONE FAITH. If some bickered or dissented they had a higher authority over them. The Jews were waiting for another King of Israel to unite the Jews and thought Jesus would overthrow the Roman empire. But that's not the kingdom Jesus was establishing. Count how many times He says kingdom in the NT. The faith spread like wildfire so it definitely went beyond a pesky Nazorean sect.
Mary did not have a sister Salome. Nowhere in the canonical gospels is there mention of that. If you're referring to a non-canonical gospel, well, I trust the Holy Spirit in guiding His Church to all truths so there's a reason why that didn't make it into the Bible.
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