Scripture Reading: John 20:1-31, Daniel 10:5-6, Acts 2:24-32
Can you imagine the range of emotions Mary walked through in these moments at Jesus’s grave? Intense grief over the loss of her friend and rabbi, probably confusion over how He could be dead after all He had promised, fear when she saw the empty tomb. And finally, intense relief and elation when she realized He had risen.
Oh, these words: “I have seen the Lord.” Isn’t that what we all crave? Mary Magdalene had the immense privilege of being the first to see the resurrected Christ, and the detail of how He speaks Mary’s name instantly familiarizes her with Him; He is a personal God. We want to see Him in our personal lives—when our bodies are desperately spent caring for little ones. We want to see Him when our friend dies unexpectedly. We want to see Him when our chronic illness debilitates us. We want to see Him when our grief and pain are all-consuming.
Jesus rising from the dead is not just a cool story; it is life to our dying souls. The ultimate path to life, on this earth and in eternity, is with Him. Walking with Him in Scripture illuminates the promises He keeps and the tender way He loves us. The Old Testament prophecies pointed to the Messiah over and over again, and Mary Magdalene’s proclamation puts full color on the grayscale of those prophecies. He is here! He is Risen! The scriptures are true! This changes everything!
We know we will see Him again one day, face-to-face, but do we have faith that we will get to see Him now, in our daily lives? How do we grow in our longing for Him when life threatens to pull us away? Our reading from Acts includes a quoted portion from King David in Psalms. When we long to see the Lord, this gives us a new angle to consider.
You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
—Psalm 16:11
Noticing good gifts and beauty and being in community with the church illuminates gladness and joy. While weeping and grief are also part of the Christian life, we don’t grieve without hope.
Walking with Him in prayer is a way we can simply be with Him, not only in an attempt to get something but in learning to love to simply be with the Father. Prayer is also a way in which the kingdom of God can be realized on the earth, and His purposes revealed.
We can see him today and in eternity because He saw us first. We long for the day we can go home to Heaven, wrap our arms around Jesus’s neck, and proclaim for ourselves, “I have seen the Lord!”
In the meantime, we can see the Lord here too.
Written by Kasey Moffett
