A Reflection For Easter 2013
*Christ is risen Alleluia! As we come to the great feast of Easter it is sometimes tempting to think of it as an ending – the ending of the Lenten season. It may feel especially like an ending if we have “given up something meaningful for Lent.” But as N.T. Wright the Anglican Bishop and Scripture teacher reminds us, “it’s just the beginning”! It is a celebration of the “first day of God’s new creation.”
How will we celebrate this year? How will we enter into all the hope and promise that God gives us in the resurrection? Perhaps a good starting point is to prayerfully read the Gospel for Easter Sunday morning (John 20: 1-18). It’s the lovely story of Mary Magdalene coming to Jesus’ tomb and finding it empty. Mary is beside herself with loss so much so that when the risen Jesus appears to her she can’t recognize him. Perhaps there are things in my life that are making it hard for me to recognize Jesus. Maybe Mary Magdalene can teach me something about what to do now. She simply stays, just as we are invited to when we pray – even if sometimes it’s hard to find Jesus in our prayer. Then Mary begins to question – questions are good. They remind me to keep searching! At last Jesus appears to Mary and she knows him when he speaks her name. So here’s a suggestion for reflection. Allow yourself to be quiet, “inside and outside”, close your eyes and imagine yourself in the garden – then listen – listen to Jesus calling your name because he is always CALLING YOUR NAME! Do you hear it? What is Jesus calling you to?
When Mary Magdalene heard her name she ran off to tell the story to the disciples and so it all began, the joyful telling of the story of Jesus, of hope, freedom and promise to all. When I hear my name how will I tell the story in my world? How am I being called today? Let’s celebrate the first day of God’s new creation!