Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. John 20:1

I wonder at the wonder of today, Easter Sunday. Today Christians the world over celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. We rejoice that the tomb in which Jesus was laid to rest by Joseph of Arimathea is empty.   The stillness , the quiet peace within the tomb attests to an unheard of event in human history. “Come look and see,” the angel proclaims. Do not fear. He has risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.” Mary Magdalene runs to find Peter and John and tells them the news. They do not believe her witness until they stand at the tomb, dumbfounded themselves.

What is not to wonder? Who has ever  given witness to  such an event  elsewhere? As the song says, it make me want to tremble with holy fear, knowing that the same Jesus who was most cruelly crucified and assuredly died on the cross is gone from the tomb. He arose from the dead. In Him we are reconciled to God to receive eternal life. Instead of weeping with grief at the loss of our Teacher, we sing joyfully to the Savior of mankind: Alleluia! Halelujah! He is alive. Jesus is alive!

This year’s Easter is very special. Something, or rather Someone indescribable stirs my soul for I am coming out of a long Lenten season. From Ash Wednesday until now, for exactly 40 days it is as if I’ve been in a grey place, a landscape which is neither pitch dark nor in bright light but like where  I’ve not had enough inner light to write or pray devotedly.  Because of some medical complications, I’ve had to depend on others more than I like. I had to give up a lot of control and freedom. It was like being doubly blocked in and blocked off.

That was then. The Spirit of God can remove all boulders   far away from the hindered heart. Now, the weighty malaise is gone. Christ’s grace and mercy poured out from his long empty tomb through time’s tunnel right into April 2015. When invited, the Holy Spirit shows up to comfort, heal and encourage. Grey twilight is only temporary. Dawn breaks open each day to God’s promises of adventure , mystery and untold joy. Just as on Easter morning when Christ was victorious over death, just as Easter this morning celebrates that victory, just so does the Holy Spirit stand ready to empower us against death of every kind. It causes me to tremble also!

Well, were you there when the stone was rolled away?

Were you there when the stone was rolled away?

(Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble)

Were you there when the stone was rolled away?

Johnny Cash

Friede