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“Alleluia! Christ is risen!”
Not so fast.
I don’t mean not to celebrate. Easter, this day, is the principal day in the Christian calendar. It is the center of our faith. During Holy Week, we remember Jesus’ love for us, his example to us, his challenge and his encouragement to us. It can be grueling, going through the past days with full attention and devotion. Now we can relax and celebrate!
And yet, not so fast. I think of Mary Magdalene going to the tomb. These days have not only brought grief; with the grief comes the heightening of her love, the awareness of the preciousness of each moment she spent with Jesus. I imagine she goes to the tomb with tears, but also with a sense of awe at what she has seen, a grief mingled with horror and love.
When she sees Jesus, she doesn’t recognize him. She is lost in her wondrous, painful love. When he speaks, she reaches for him. Surely, they spend a while talking in that garden before she runs to tell the good news. By the time she arrives to tell the other disciples, her mood has shifted. She is ready to speak, to proclaim.
But not at first. Let’s pause with her, in that pivotal moment. Her love has filled her with sadness and uncertainty; now that love flows to joy – and more uncertainty. What does this mean? What will it mean for her?
This is not a simple moment for her, or for us, to run past the grief and the love of the past. This is a time for all of us to gaze in bafflement and awe at the empty tomb, all the tombs of our lives that we might have thought were sealed forever. In this moment, cross and resurrection are one. I don’t know about you, but my reaction is wonder, love, and praise.
The Companions strive to proclaim the power of encountering Christ. But proclamation without contemplation is simple rhetoric. Mary needs a few moments to gaze on the face of Jesus before she runs to tell the others. So do we. So do you.
Savor this moment. Let the joy and the confusion mingle in you. Spend some time talking to Jesus about these last days, and what his resurrection means for you and the world. And then, go tell what has happened, with exuberant confidence.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Love to you all.
Shane, for the Companions
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