Easter Sunday the Resurrection of the Lord
Happy Easter, friends!
We rejoice in this great celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord, alleluia! In Lent we were given an opportunity to let go of those things that are holding us back from relationship with God and an invitation to let God love us as His sons and daughters. In this Easter Sunday gospel reading from John, we have this idea illustrated perfectly. In this story, Mary Magdalene discovers the uncovered tomb of our risen Lord, and the disciples John and Simon Peter run like the wind to see it for themselves. John ran faster, more eagerly toward the tomb. When John arrived, however, he stood at the edge of the tomb, looking at the burial cloths; and he did not enter.
Peter arrived a short while later and immediately entered the tomb without hesitation. Only after this gesture did John enter the tomb and believe. This is like how we are in our journey with Christ. We celebrate his great resurrection on Easter Sunday where we have a great time with family and eat delicious food, as we should when a great feast is upon us! But we still hold ourselves back. There are things in our lives we don’t want to give up. The season of lent that we have just exited is one of removing and letting go of those things holding us back from a full loving relationship with God. We see John run for the tomb of Jesus, but when he reached the precipice, he could not enter. Only after the example of another also running after Christ, and fulling entering into the mystery of His love, was John able to confidently surrender his own fears and let God show him how much he loves His son.
Who do you identify with? Simon Peter, who ran into the tomb of Jesus in hope of his resurrection? Or are you more like John, who held himself back? I encourage you to both celebrate this great feast of Easter, as well as prayerfully reflect on what this Lent was like for you, and where God is calling you to grow through this new season of Easter.
Isaac Cotnoir Drexel Focus Missionary