“There was just something different about him/her” is a common refrain. We love to comment when someone has a glow- whether they are in love, pregnant, or whatever the circumstance may be. After Easter, I often ponder the glow of Jesus’ resurrected body. Something was different about him. His closest friends didn’t recognize him at first. His hands and feet bore the scars of the cross. But as Scripture records, Jesus walked through locked doors, appeared and disappeared from the disciples’ sight, and ascended into heaven- to name a few.
For the next few weeks, we will look at stories of Jesus after his resurrection. This week focuses on Jesus’ interaction with Mary Magdalene by the tomb. The word that comes to my mind when we look at Mary Magdalene in this story is dutiful. Despite her emotions in the wake of the crucifixion, she is dutiful to visit the tomb early in the morning (John 20:1). After seeing the empty tomb, she is dutiful to figure out where Jesus’ body has been laid (John 20:15). Then, she is dutiful to share the news of the resurrection with the others (John 20:18).
As much as “duty” describes Mary, we also see the glory of Christ in his resurrected body. We see his power and compassion intertwined. As Jesus appears to Mary, He offers a glimpse of the hope that is to come in his ascension and his gift of the Holy Spirit:
“Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’
Side note for larger chunks of scripture with children:
Stories like this tend not to make the cut for our children’s Bibles- no whales swallowing people or underdogs slaying giants. However, we can still learn and discuss these stories with our children. I am taking the liberty here to speak with the confidence of an educator, not a parent who puts this into regular practice. If you have littles who will not sit still or retain a story with multiple verses from the Bible, you can always read from different versions of the Bible, like The Message, or just turn the verses into a summary that they can understand (I have attached an example in the devotional below).
Easter Sunday Recap with the Rectors!
Don’t let this picture deceive you; the kids’ day was filled with far more sugar and far less sleep than the AAP would find appropriate. One child also informed me later that we really should have read the Easter story before they saw their baskets and that I should fix that for next year. My favorite moment was when our two year old walked into his sister’s bedroom Saturday night, a blanket over his head, pretending to be the resurrected Jesus and said “IT’S ME!.”
Mary proclaimed in John 20:18, “I have seen the Lord!” Praise God that we have seen His Spirit at work in our lives, amidst challenges and in spite of ourselves.
Anne and Mark
(but also down below) ↓
That is so funny!! Great stories!! ❤️