Dear friends,
I wrote this in 2013 and I wanted to share it with you as we celebrate this joyous Easter season! May God's grace fill you with love, mercy, and hope!
Blessings, Emma.
I
cannot believe it. I will not believe it
– it must have been a nightmare that I will wake up from any minute now. My Lord is dead. It cannot be! And yet, I saw it with my own
eyes. I watched as he was crucified with
2 common thieves. I watched them put a
sign on his cross that said – Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Oh how we cried as we helplessly watched the
soldiers torment Jesus. We stood by and
watched how the soldiers cast lots for his clothes. How could they!
They
have no idea how Jesus is. They were not
with us to hear him teach about the kingdom of heaven. They did not witness his many miracles. They did not have their lives changed for all
eternity as I did. They have no idea who
they have crucified. And yet there was
nothing we could do. All we could do was
watch from a distance and pray. Pray for
a miracle, but none came. Jesus asked
for a drink and after taking his drink, he said it is finished. And then he was
gone. Gone.
My
whole world has been shattered. I was
lost before I met Jesus. I was possessed
by seven demons and Jesus freed me from my sin and the life of misery that was
all I once knew. But now I know that
there is more to life. Jesus breathed
new life into me and made me a new creation in the eyes of God. I can never thank him enough for the gift of
life! But now he is gone. I will never
see his face again. I will never hear
him say my name.
My
Lord is gone. All I can do now is tend
to his body. On the first day of the
week, while it was still dark, I went to the tomb where they laid my Lord’s
body. When I came to the place where Joseph of Arimathea put his body in a tomb, I couldn’t believe my
eyes – the stone was rolled away!
No! Lord have mercy! This can’t be happening! Where is
he??!? Where have they put his body? Has it been moved so soon or worse still –
stolen? Terror and fear ripped through my body and soul. My whole body shook with fear but I had to
know what had happened. I ran to the
disciples shouting “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know
where they have put him!” I am surprised that they could understand a word that
I said because I was sobbing with grief.
My Lord. My Lord. What have they
done to you?
The disciples ran into the tomb and they discovered
that his body was gone. But the burial
clothes were still there. The cloth that
was put on my Lord’s head was lying separately, rolled up in a place by
itself. The disciples left the empty
tomb. They said nothing to me and
left.
It was like time had stopped. I stood outside the tomb – weeping. Where is my Lord? What has happened to him?
As I was bent over in grief, I looked into the tomb
and there were two beings – men but not of this world. Angels! They were in white garments, bright
as the sun and they were sitting where my Lord’s body had been – one at the
head and the other at the foot. To add
to my shock, they spoke to me! They said, “Woman, why are you crying?” I
answered, “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put
him.”
The angels did not answer me. I did not know what to do. I was still filled with sorrow and grief, but
I was so confused. What was going on?
What do I do now? Do I stay here and wait for the disciples to come back? Do I
go to find them to tell them about the angels?
As I turned around from the tomb, I noticed a man
standing there. I did not know who he
was but if he works in the tombs, maybe he can help me. He asked me, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking
for?” I hopefully
asked him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him,
and I will get him.”
And then he said my name. Mary.
I knew in that instant that this was my Lord – Jesus! I cried out with a
joy that filled every part of my body – Rabboni!
Everything has changed. My tears were not full of sorrow, but full of
joy! He is risen!
I fell at his feet and held onto him with all my
might. I had lost him once already and I
was not going to let go ever again. In a
kind voice that was full of love, he said to me “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to
the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am ascending to my
Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
I let go, tears still streaming from my eyes, and I
obeyed. I left my Lord and ran to where
the disciples were and announced - “I have seen the Lord!”
