Morning Prayer - Monday of Easter Week

Mark 16:1-8 (Click here for text)

I always find Easter Eve a strange time. Having immersed myself in the passion on the Friday and been amazed again at what Jesus went through and how He manages to forgive and retain his hope in humanity, I feel a bit lost on the Saturday. Of course preparations for Sunday kick in and occupy time, it is spiritually an in between place.

In Mark's Gospel we have the only hint at what the disciples were up to. The women, here, had clearly observed the Sabbath following the placing of Jesus' body in the tomb and as soon as they were able they had bought some spices on the Saturday evening to honour Jesus in death at first light. Where were the men? The women must have felt unable to ask them for help in moving the stone - maybe the men were avoiding the soldiers and had heard that a guard had been placed on the temporary tomb. So their main focus is honouring Jesus in death as they no doubt have a horrible night wracked with grief and worry.

So it is in a complete state that they arrive at the first Easter morning. Not with anticipation of Easter Eggs and a more upbeat service than usual under girded by the joy of knowing that Jesus succeeds in making all things new, do they arrive, but with trauma and loss.

The angel they find rightly soothes them with the words, stop being afraid,' but it hardly has any effect. They run away and for a time remain too terrified to speak.

What must have been the impact of this early morning event as they went away? The plans and concerns of the last 36 hours have all been wiped away. There is no body to care for. There is no Jesus to prepare for proper entombment. How did it finally dawn that there this might mean resurrection? When did they dare to believe? Was it Mary's experience? Followed by Peter and Cleopas and Luke?

Just imagine the transformation of perspective! Hope beyond hope! It must have been strange - the certainty of the death and mourning rituals replaced with the uncertainty of of hope in the miraculous. How much evidence would it take? How many appearances? How much explanation until it finally sank in.

But with the joy of the resurrection dawns the understanding of the significance - not just for them, the ones who were mourning and are now rejoicing, but for the world! How long until the responsibility for them begins to take hold and they realise that their testimony is needed for the world to understand what God is doing in Jesus.

Isn't this where our journeys become connected. Once the reality of the resurrection sinks in and we become convicted of its truth, so the responsibility of that understanding dawns too. This is not simply a personal event but a transforming event for all people. And we who believe without seeing first hand have no less a share in that responsibility than those first few who experienced Jesus alive directly before them.