Early on Easter morning, the women come to the tomb, expecting to find Jesus’ body exactly where it had been left. What greeted them was an empty tomb and, we’re told, they were perplexed. They weren’t horrified. They weren’t angry or afraid. There were perplexed. It made no sense. Death is death and they had seen him die. They had watched as Joseph of Arimathea took down Jesus’ body, wrapped it in linen, and laid him in the freshly-hewn tomb. After the messengers tell them what has happened, we aren’t told the women come immediately to belief. They report to the disciples, who themselves cannot make sense of it. Peter runs to see for himself and is amazed. Like the women, he is not yet at the point of belief. But I would imagine they were all asking, “What if it’s true?”
What if death is real, but it’s not the end of the story? What if death does not have the last word, but is only a door through which Jesus had walked into a wholly different life? What if it’s true that because Jesus opened that door through his death and resurrection, it remains open for each of us? How might that affect the way you live this life you’ve been given? How do you respond to this news? If Jesus isn’t found in the place where we expect him to be, where is he and what is he up to?
Today, offer a prayer of praise for the promise of resurrection and what it means both in this life and in the life to come.