Sunday (Matthew 28v1-20)
The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!
Do you get the impression that Mary Magdalene was awake all night, ready for the first glimmer of evidence that dawn had arrived? Like an athlete in the starting blocks, she was off, probably gathering the other women on the way. They came expecting to embalm a corpse, they found a very alive Jesus, more alive than he had been up till now, because now he was in his heavenly state. He appears to the disciples in the upper room, to Thomas, to two on the walk to Emmaus, who did not recognise him till he stops with them to eat and blesses the bread. Maybe, as he raised the bread, his sleeve fell back, revealing his scars? Whatever it was, they ran all the way back to Jerusalem in their excitement, all was joy, confusion and bewilderment.
There will be times in our lives when God seems especially near and real, perhaps at special celebrations, at communion. We need to remember these moments, maybe note them in a journal, because there will also be times when God seems distant, difficulties may obscure our spiritual senses.
Whatever today brings or feels like, from the moment Jesus came out of the tomb, the cosmos changed forever. The way to God is open to everyone, sin is dealt with once and for all because:
Jesus is Alive: Selah!