Welcoming the Holy
Here we invite you to take time for yourself in personal prayer. The following spiritual reflection offers words and images which we hope will evoke for you an experience of God.
By: Sister Melissa Gernon
Opening Prayer
On this day, God, Your only begotten Son, Jesus, conquered death and led the way for us to have eternal life with You. We pray that, through the renewal of our Baptismal promises and being brought to new life through the Holy Spirit, we rise to the new life You promised us. Amen.
Scripture
John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.
Reflection
What strikes me, today, about this scripture is the chaos surrounding Mary Magdalene’s arrival at the tomb. This is not a happy spring morning, let’s have an egg hunt, and celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead moment. This moment, instead, is chaotic and full of questions; Where is he? Why isn’t he here? Where did they take him? Should I go in the tomb? Why are the burial clothes separated?
All this is because even though they were told so many times what would happen, they did not understand that Jesus would actually rise from the dead. It isn’t until a few lines later in John’s Gospel that Mary Magdalene finally understands when Jesus calls to her at the tomb. She finally gets it.
At times, I am so full of questions that I fail to realize I have all the answers already. I just need to understand and accept what has been said. This is not always easy, but if I have the faith in God that I worked on returning to this past Lenten season, then it becomes a beautiful witness to what I already know. Jesus rose from the dead to welcome me into eternal life when my earthly life is over, and that is something to celebrate and rejoice about! Happy Easter!
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and is the Lord of Life. Renew Your gift of life within us and help us grow toward the fullness of eternal life with You. We ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
