Reflecting on John 20:1-18 and Zechariah 9:12-17
The first Easter was a walk tomb-ward. Filled with grief. Bound by heartache. Broken by darkness. Everything Mary knew, everything Mary believed, everything Mary trusted in…was gone. The first Easter begins with a walk tomb-ward.
We have all walked tomb-ward. Bound. Broken. Greif filled.
We have all felt like Mary, lost. Empty. Alone.
The prophet Zechariah calls those of us who follow Christ “Prisoners of Hope.”
My family is living this phrase as we navigate a complicated and battering adoption process. We are working hard to bring our son home from Haiti – but it feels like every step forward means ten steps back. We are two years in, battered by our agency, dealing with layers and uncertainty, and still no child.
Just the other night, I cradled our 4 year old as she whispered, “Will I ever get to meet my brother?” The silence was overwhelming. Deep. Dark. Tomb-ward. And yet, I had to – my spirit had to – say, “Yes, sweet girl. Yes, of course. You will meet your bother.”
Why? Because I am a Prisoner of Hope. Because I know the life I have in Jesus, I am a Prisoner of Hope – hemmed in, bound, held together by the Truth of the Resurrection.
The morning that begins with a walk tomb-ward is quickly transformed as Mary is the first to experience the Resurrected Lord. The tomb-ward journey becomes a testimony of Hope. Of Joy. Of Resurrection.
The worst thing, is never the last thing. We might be walking tomb-ward… but friends, that is a journey of Hope.
Written by: Pastor Katie Bishop, New Hope UMC
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