Daily Reflection – 12/27/2024
Sacred Scripture
Now on the first day of the week 2 [Mary Magdelene] ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; 5 and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, 7 and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. (John 20:1a, 2-8)
Reflection
The death of a loved one leaves most of us physically spent and emotionally hollow. No matter how strong our faith is, we still feel the new reality of our life. Our life is changed because the one we loved is no longer there.
It’s hard. It may even be gut-wrenching. We know we will go on, but we wonder how that will happen if the person we loved is no longer at our side. There is now a part of our life that is missing – to be filled with memories but not a physical presence.
None of this was any different than the disciples’ feelings after they had laid their leader, their messiah, the man whom they knew as one who came from and actually was God.
Mary Magdalene and Peter were filled with those emotions. So too was the “other disciple” (John the Evangelist ). Yet, when he entered the tomb, he saw and believed.
Yet because they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead, they did not understand the meaning of the resurrection.
So too with us. Oh, unlike John, we now know the full story of the resurrection. We know what it meant then and we know what it means now. It is at the time of mourning and during our grief that we should embrace and hold on to that meaning.
The birth, the death and the resurrection give us assurance of our own resurrection and the resurrection of those we love. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus “(1 Thessalonians 4:14).
The resurrection means that Jesus has a continuing ministry: “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them “ (Hebrews 7:25 ).
No less than Jesus Christ intercedes for us.
The resurrection means that Christianity and its God are unique and completely different and unique among world religions. We are followers of God become Man and, in his humanity, we find the perfect model for our lives.
The resurrection proves that though it looked like Jesus died on the cross as a common criminal, He died as a sinless man, out of love and self-sacrifice to bear the guilt of our sin.
The death of Jesus on the cross was the payment, but the resurrection was the receipt, showing that the payment was perfect in the sight of God the Father.
That receipt has been handed down through millennia to each of us today.
Hold that receipt tightly and keep it impressed upon your heart and, when we do have to say our final earthly good-bye to someone we love, or we are still numbed by grief, always remember that our words are but temporary.
He has won for us the chance to stand together in eternity.
Prayer of The Day
“Jesus, I want to follow you wherever you go. Help me to live for you.”
Daily Note
You see, Mary, like all of Jesus’ followers only knew Him as God on earth; they did not know Him as God in heaven. They only knew Him from a limited perspective, they did not know Him in all His glory. They did not know His power over sin and death, and how there were still so many things that He came to do. They did not have the understanding of how He came to suffer and die for all of us, and to be risen in victory over sin and death. They were holding on to what they knew, and by doing this they were placing limits on God. They were bringing God down to their level and fitting Him into something that they could grasp. What they needed to do, and what we need to do in our lives, is let God be God.
