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Attending Jesus - Easter MondayMonday, March 28, 2005
Matthew 28:8-10 Lazarus hadn't left again after Jesus brought him back from days of death; even so, surely no one expected him to live on forever. But Jesus? Would he grow old and die of old age after this first redemption from the shadows of death? His leadership, his words, his miracles all made him seem larger than life until he was tortured and crucified. Now even that was only a memory, and he was back more confident than ever. Is Jesus a man like other men? I know Lazarus will die, I know I will die, but Jesus? His death seems only a semi-colon or a comma, certainly not a period or exclamation mark in his life. Now back, wearing pure white garments, with still-fresh wounds in his hands and feet and a hole in his side, Jesus wears physical life lightly and seems to be both in heaven and earth all at once. It will be 40 days till Jesus rises into the heavens. Only centuries later do the church councils theologize Jesus' eternal divinity. But even now, only a moment after seeing Jesus outside his own tomb, it is clear he has defeated death. Jesus moves easily in a new existence, modeling for us how we too will move one day, in a world without end. Lord, you dance and dance on the edge of the world, ready to reach out for me when I rush toward you. Let me leap with confidence and joy. |
Of course they just heard it from the angel, but seeing Jesus with their own eyes assures the women far more than mere words, even angel-words. They grab his feet, and I am sure they don't want to let him go. Now that he's come back, he won't leave again, will he?