John 20:10-18

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

What strikes me most about this passage is how the interaction between Mary and the angel. Mary is crying because she thinks someone's taken Jesus' body from the grave. So naturally, she's grieving about His death and the possibility of someone desecrating His body. But it's what the angels tell her thats really touching. They tell her not to grieve, not to cry or be depressed because Jesus died, but be joyful because of why He died. They tell her to rejoice because Jesus died for her, not to dwell on the suffering. She needed to see past the hurt and see the greater joy that comes with it. I realized I was like Mary this past week..this entire journey, if that's what it was.

I was drowning in the bad stuff because of what's been happening but amidst all that, i forgot that there's a greater force, a power (as Pastor Green said today in his sermon) that is at work- and that's the love and grace of our Lord. I was wasting time dwelling on something that is so insignificant compared to the love of Christ and the sufferings of Jesus. I knew how to swim out of it, but i just didn't because my sinful nature kept me tied down to the bottom. Only way to free myself from that grasp is recognizing the greater purpose in everything that happens.

I gotta have faith in the resurrection..

I guess we'll see how it goes this week.