Easter Sunday
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| Mileseva Monastery |
Mark 16: 1-18
And when the
Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices, so that they might go and anoint Him. And very early on the first day
of the week, they went to the tomb just as the sun was rising. And they said to
one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?”
And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back—and it was very
large. And they went into the tomb. There they saw a young man sitting on the
right side, clad in a white robe; and they were beside themselves with
amazement. And he said to them, “Do not be startled; you seek Jesus of Nazareth
the Crucified One. He is risen; He is not here; see, there is the place where
they laid Him [his
body]. But go, and say to his disciples and Peter “He
will lead you to Galilee. There you will see Him as He promised you.”
And
they went out and fled from the tomb in great haste, for trembling and
astonishment had come upon them; and being awestruck, they were unable to say
anything to anyone about what they had experienced.
When He had risen early on the first day of the week, He appeared first
to Mary Magdalene from whom He had driven out seven demons. And she went and
told those who had walked with Him, as they mourned and wept. But when they
heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, their hearts could not grasp
it.
After this He appeared in another form to two of them on the way as they
were walking over the fields. And they went back and told the rest, but they
could not open their hearts to their words either.
Afterwards He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were celebrating
the meal. He reproached them for their lack of openness and for their hardness
of heart, because they had not wanted to believe those who had seen Him, the
Risen One.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the new
message
from the realm of the angels to the whole of creation. Whoever unites his heart
with it [believes] and is immersed in me
[baptized] will attain the salvation. But whoever closes himself against it does not let the power of selflessness into his
heart [does not let the power of My Self into his heart] will meet his downfall. And spiritual powers [these signs] will stand by those who unite themselves with it
and will attend their path [believe]: Through the power of my being [in my name] they will drive out demons; they will speak a new
language; serpents they will make upright, and poisons they are given to drink
will not harm them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and give healing
forces to them.
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| He Qi |
Easter
Sunday
Mark
16: 1 – 18
Three
women approach a cave-like tomb. They expect a heavy stone barrier. Instead
they find the stone removed. Instead of silence, they hear words. Instead of
the dead, the see a young man clad in shining white.
He
gives them two messages: Jesus of Nazareth is not in this tomb—see for your
selves. Furthermore, tell his followers that He will lead them to the rich
paradisal beauty of Galilee .
In
recent weeks, the seasonal prayer spoke of the place of the heart being empty.
We could imagine the scene at the tomb being replayed today. But instead of an
outer cave, it is the interior space, the heart-space in which it takes place.
Those three coming to grieve and minister are our own thoughts, our feelings,
our desire to act. We expect to encounter a heavy darkness in the heart-space;
but instead we find that what once was, is no more. Instead of sad silence, we
find heart’s pounding, a quickening of breath. Suddenly it is light again.
For
Someone in our heart is whispering poet-words to us:
I arise today
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| Burne-Jones |
Blessed by all things
Wings of breath
Delight of eyes
Wonder of whisper
Intimacy of touch
Eternity of soul
Urgency of thought
Miracle of health
Embrace of God….[1]
The
stone barrier has been removed. He who died lives, and walks our lives’ paths
ahead of us. May we live this day.
