Who Are You Looking For?

Today’s Reading: Mark 16:1-11; Luke 8:1-3, 24:1-11; John 20:1-2, 11-18

Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. – Mark 16:1-4

I wonder how long it took them to react to what they were seeing. The large stone was no longer at the entrance of the tomb. When they entered, they found that Jesus’ body was no longer there. Luke describes the women as puzzled. And as they stood there trying to figure out what had happened, two men clothed in dazzling robes suddenly appeared to them.

The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” – Luke 24:5-7

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AMONG THE DEAD FOR SOMEONE WHO IS ALIVE?

“Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.” The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened. – Mark 16:7-8

[Mary Magdalene] ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” – John 20:1-2

Mary Magdalene followed Simon Peter back to the empty tomb. Overwhelmed with emotion, she stood outside the tomb and wept. Consider with me all of the emotions Mary must have been feeling. Now, consider with me how special this next moment must have been for Mary — a woman marked by her past, forever known as the one who had been possessed. How did she see herself? If she had ever struggled with feeling unloved and unimportant, I wonder if those feelings went away when Jesus chose her to be the first person He appeared to after His resurrection – even before returning to His Father. I imagine this encounter with Jesus changed Mary’s life, much like my own encounter with Jesus forever changed my life.

WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying? The angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
– John 20:11-18

WHO AM I LOOKING FOR?

I find great significance in Jesus’ question to Mary and I ask myself the same thing – Who am I looking for? Am I looking for Jesus? Am I expecting Jesus to reveal Himself to me today? Am I expecting to hear from the Spirit, to encounter God’s presence in my life today? Am I following Jesus today with a willingness to serve Him? Do I live with the daily recognition that Jesus is alive and actively involved in my life?

Jesus, here I am with a heart willing to experience you today as we celebrate your resurrection! Open my eyes to the ways in which you are working in my life and in the lives of those around you. Strengthen my faith and help me to see my value in you no matter how others define me. May you be glorified today in the lives of believers around the world as we celebrate the reality that you conquered death and rose from the grave. We serve a Risen Savior! Amen.