On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!"(Luke 24:1-6)
Today I am trying to imagine how the women coming to the tomb (the gospels mention Mary Magdalen and Mary, mother of James, amongst others) would have felt on this morning.
There would have been no joy or anything to look forward to.
I imagine they were driven by a sense of duty to embalm Jesus' body - the only thing left, which they can do for him now.
Then the shock they must have felt when the tomb was empty. Who has taken the body? Now they cannot even perform this rite, which they have come prepared for.
I wonder how long it took for them to comprehend the words the angels told them. He is not here; he has risen!
I can't help but think how often I go about my daily tasks, many of them mundane, without expecting anything amazing, without remembering that God is there with me, without being ready for any surprises he might spring on me. Letting myself be limited by the chores and tasks ahead, without expecting the unexpected ...
He is risen indeed!
May I remember this more often in the future.
