With fear and great joy

Matthew 28: 8 - 15

Do not be afraid....

Sometimes, God comes through in such a surprising way that we are at a loss. Emotions can even swing from fear to joy, disbelief and everything in between. That is how the first believers experienced the resurrection!! An empty tomb - what might that mean? Where did they put the body....have they hidden it....or did he really rise as he predicted? The women left the empty tomb - feeling......hope, fear, joy, wonder...? We can only guess what mixed feelings filled their hearts. And Jesus "met them" on their way, in a form they recognized and they fell at his feet in worship. He says to them "Do not be afraid". These words are scattered through Scripture whenever a divine encounter takes place. It seems that as humans we long for God, and yet hold a certain fearful anxiety, when we do meet Him. I believe this is only to be expected - in fact if we were not fearfully surprised, it may be that the experience was "of our own making".

The next few days of this Easter Week, we read about the resurrection appearances recorded in Scripture. The readings embed the message of Easter and reality of the resurrection deeper in our hearts. It does not end on Easter Sunday - when we sing hymns about Christ's triumph over sin and death. The resurrection ought to make a difference in our 'ordinary' lives, in the way we recognize the presence of the Risen Lord in our lives.