He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28:6 (NIV)

For Meditation

“Peter, John! Where are you? They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him.”

I almost crushed her against the narrow doorway as I ran towards the tomb where Joseph and Nicodemus laid His body to rest for the Sabbath. My knees were cranky, but I pushed on as fast as possible. John breezed past me. His younger frame was lighter and faster. The look in his face at the entrance of the tomb said it all when I got there. This time, my boldness was with me, so I entered it. The evidence was overwhelming. The strip of linen laid there like an empty shell. The burial cloth that banded His head was neatly folded and up by itself and placed separate from the linen. But where was the body? Who was playing games with us? What did they want?

Until that time, I thought women were emotionally weaker than men, but I was wrong. Mary was to display a heart of steel I never had.

A strange feeling crept over me, as we all stood there, sending a chill down my spine. “We are next,” I said. I quickly mapped a getaway strategy. But Mary would have none of it. No one could persuade her to leave the graveside until she had received the body for proper embalmment and burial. Her stubbornness was getting to me, and I couldn’t hang around any longer; so, I bolted away, this time, with John trailing me. As soon as we entered our hideout, I shut the door as tightly as I could. “No one is coming in here for us. As soon as it’s dark, we will make our escape to Galilee.” But we were in for the best surprise of our lives.

“I have seen the Lord!” The same voice that announced the empty tomb shouted at the entrance. But this time, it was a delighted one. The look on Mary’s face was exhilarating.  

“Peter, it’s true. I have seen the Lord. He is risen indeed. When you left, I took a glance inside the tomb. Two angels in brilliant white clothes sat there. They asked what I was looking for. I have never been as daring before, Peter, as I talked to them. 

“He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him,” they told me. They told me to tell you specifically, Peter.””

Joy welled up in my heart. Why didn’t I remember what the Master told us several times – that He would be crucified, but that He would rise on the third day. Before I could embrace Mary, a strange, but, bitter feeling overshadowed my rising sense of joy. I was jealous. Why should it be Mary and not me to see our resurrected Lord?

“Remember Peter! She is a woman. How could you believe her report?” Just like that, doubt displaced my creeping sense of joy.

One of the young men came with a report that muddied the matter. The news was all over the city that we’ve stolen Jesus’s body in the night while the armed guards slept. The city was confused. Some have believed the report, but others have heard about the bribery scandal in the high priest’s court. The speculation was what Pilate would do about it.

Just then, two of our brethren banged excitedly on the door. The Master had appeared to them on the Road to Emmaus. Their experience evoked the last night when we supped with Him. Could this be the real deal?

Then suddenly He appeared. “Peace be with you’” He said.

Jolted with doubt, we thought we had seen a ghost.

 “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” Then He showed us his nail-pierced hands and feet.

It’s true! My Lord is alive!  

I couldn’t take my eyes from Him as He took the piece of bread and ate in our presence. Gracious Lord that He is, Jesus reminded us of the Old Testament witness to all the events concerning Him. When He had opened minds to understand everything, He vanished, just as He came in.  But Thomas would not believe our report. Mary Magdalene chuckled as we tried to convince him.

What a sweet taste of revenge!