“And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.” (Mark 16:2)   Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome got up early, after the Sabbath, to bring spices and anoint their good friend and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, who had just been crucified.  I wonder if it was a nice morning.  Did the morning possess a cool breeze, or did the sun, the sun that had risen, immediately warm the ladies to their bones in radiant comfort as they walked in grief?   Was the morning just like the morning that awaits all of us on April 8^th?  Why don’t you come and find out?

            Anyway, we do know that Jesus sure knew how to pick friends.  These ladies ventured off in love and sorrow to care for the body of the One who passed.  They took off not knowing how things were going to work out.  How are they to access the body?  Who can roll the stone away?  Will there be others there to help?  Will others be there to stop them?  These friends of Jesus begin their journey with many questions on their hearts, but they don’t let the questions prevent them from journeying.  What awesome and loyal friends and disciples.  Jesus sure knew how to pick friends.  That’s why Jesus picked you.

            Where is your journey leading you?  I hope the questions are not preventing you from stepping out in faith.  I hope the “griefs” and sorrows of this world don’t keep you from flowing in faith.  The journey with Christ never ends.  The journey of the women on that sunny morning of the first day of the week brings them to a pivotal point in their lives on earth.  They come to the tomb and they find that their work, in mystery and awe, has already been done. 

The friends of Jesus see a strange young man dressed in a white robe sitting around and in words of resurrection, he let’s them know that their journey has not reached an end, but is taking on a whole new direction.  “But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look, there is the place they laid him.’” (Mark 16:6) 

May the true, living and Risen Lord empower you with the truth of resurrection and the power of salvation this Easter morning as you journey with Him in this life and the next.