John 20:1-18 (NIV)
1 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. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,
the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and
we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple
started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter
and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen
lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and
went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well
as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still
lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who
had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They
still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11 Now Mary stood
outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12
and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head
and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They
have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not
realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is
it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you
have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,
“Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “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.’” 18 Mary
Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she
told them that he had said these things to her.
Little Philip, born with Down's syndrome, attended a
third-grade Sunday School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls.
Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his
differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of a
creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the
group, though not fully. The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought Leggs
pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. Each receiving one,
the children were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some
symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. Back in the
classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one
by one in surprise fashion. After running about the church property in wild
confusion, the students returned to the classroom and placed the containers on
the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by
one. After each one, whether flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh
and ahh. Then one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed,
"That's stupid. That's not fair. Somebody didn't do their
assignment." Philip spoke up, "That's mine." "Philip, you
don't ever do things right!" the student retorted. "There's nothing
there!" I did so do it," Philip insisted. "I did do it. It's
empty. the tomb was empty!" Silence followed. From then on Philip became a
full member of the class.
He died not long afterward from an infection most normal
children would have shrugged off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds
marched up to the altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher,
each to lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.
What a great reminder that on the first Easter the tomb
was empty and our Lord was risen and alive. Let us not fail to remember not
only this Easter day the fact that our Lord is alive but every day.
Dear Lord, thank You for dyeing on the cross for our sins
being buried then rising form the dead conquering death. Thank You that we can call
upon Your name and ask forgiveness for our sins because of what You did for
each of us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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