This Changes Everything!

Note: This post is a a departure from what I have shared to date. It is based on a piece of scripture (Luke 24:1-12) that I have tried to picture in my mind's eye. What you read here is my attempt to capture some of the experience that is described there. It is my hope that this might prompt a new response for you to a familiar scene from the Word.

We needed our shared experience to sustain us in our sorrow, so we gathered to walk together to your gravesite. We did not talk much on the way, each of us lost in her own thoughts. The pain was so fresh. Every time I closed my eyes, images sprang to mind - your face twisted with pain, your wounds raw and seeping, your body on shameful display. Our task this day was to prepare your body to be buried. I was thankful for the opportunity to treat you with gentleness, loving care and respect after that brutal Friday.

We were surprised to see the opening to the cave was free from the boulder that had been blocking it. We had thought we’d need to ask for help to gain access, but there we were, able to enter unhindered. As our eyes adjusted to the dim surroundings, it became clear you were no longer there. I was shocked! Why would anyone take your body? Who would do such a thing? Wasn’t it enough that you had died like a common criminal when you had done nothing wrong? Did they have to steal you away from final preparations by loved ones as well?

There wasn’t time for our dismay to overwhelm us, for as we turned to retreat, we were startled by two men standing nearby. It was immediately obvious they were no ordinary folks. They were…. radiant, for lack of a better word. They didn’t glow really, but there was an astounding sense of light and purity in them. I was on my knees before I knew what I was doing! This was holy ground, there was no doubt.

The men were quick to remind us of your own words in recent weeks. Slowly it dawned on me that their claims must be true! For a moment I was completely awestruck, then we all hurried to our feet. We could not wait to tell the others! We could not wait to lift their somber grief with this amazing news! As we rushed to them, I wondered what it would be like to see you again. The prospect stole my breath.

We stumbled through the door in a clamour of emphatic exclamations. Your friends, who had been hunkered grief-stricken in this room for two days, were totally bewildered. Looking back, I can hardly blame them. We had left them earlier that morning bolstered for a sad and serious task, and returned in a joyous flurry of energy. As soon as he caught the gist of our claims, Peter rushed past us and out the door. Once the initial excitement subsided, we did our best to calmly relay the stunning turn of events to the others. We were desperate for them to understand, to experience the same deep knowing we had. We were met with incredulous stares...then outright disbelief. Despite their cynicism, there was a jubilant energy, a joyful hope in us they could not deny.

Eventually, we left them to their own thoughts, trusting they would see in time. As for me, I spent the rest of the day doing my regular tasks, while harbouring the most amazing truth. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!