Monday, March 14, 2011

Dead Man Alive Forevermore

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb… 
I saw her see the two angels from my vantage point infinitely far away, and yet so terribly near. I almost heard her heart leap within her at the appearance of these magnificent and radiant creatures, but not because of who they were, but because of Whom they were not. They asked her the cause of her weeping. 

That these heavenly beings in glowing white robes spoke to her did not matter. They were not Him. She would not be distracted from her mission - to see her Lord one last time. It was the focus of her entire being, and the devotion of her heart would not let even the Host of Heaven stand in her way.

Her response was made with understated agony. "They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him!"

Since they gave her no immediate answer, she turned from them. Perhaps she heard the footsteps of the Man who suddenly approached. Mostly, it seemed she had little thought for them at all. They were not Him!
In turning she saw Someone who had the appearance of a common day laborer, a gardener by the looks of Him. When He asked her the same question, she leapt at the possibility that this Man might know something. “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

She was not large, nor did she appear unusually strong for a woman her age, but the intensity of her longing was evident, and it seemed to me looking on, that she would have done anything to procure a final resting place for the body of the Man who was life itself to her. Even if it meant attempting to transport the dead weight of a fully grown corpse entirely by herself. It was as clear as a sunlit spring that nothing else mattered; not defilement from touching the dead; not the weakness of her frame; not the improbability of her success. Her grief-stricken heart would not be stayed.

Then this Man whom she did not recognize spoke a single word to her.

"Mary," He said.

It was the voice of her Creator and Redeemer speaking her name. It was the voice of Love itself calling out to her as no Other possibly could. Though I was mere spectator, my heart soared within me knowing, at least in part, the utter joy that was hers. The deepest, most intense longing of her soul was right there before her, against all logic and odds and probability; an impossible hope beyond all hope fulfilled! What an astounding gift of grace and love! She was the first, the very first to see the Risen Lord, and He called her by name!

"TEACHER!" she cried and flung herself at His feet, grasping Him with all her strength, as if to convey that she would never let Him from her sight or release Him from her desperately longing arms again.

I did not see His face at any time during this encounter, and especially at that moment as He gazed downward at His maidservant from whom He had cast seven demons, and who was now weeping in ecstasy and joy in the Presence of Him whom she had thought stolen from her forever.

"Do not cling to Me," he said gently, "for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God."

She looked up at Him at those words, her face imbued with love and devotion beyond mere speech to describe.

I turned away then. I could not intrude on so intimate a moment between the Savior and His beloved. He was Resurrected King, and yet Gentle Teacher. Lord of Lords Eternal, and yet intimate Friend. In that momentary glance between that woman headed for death, and the One who died in her place so she would live, I saw all the purposes of Heaven from Creation to the Cross.

Had she been the only one to receive His gift, I believe in my heart He would have laid down His life regardless.

But she was just the first to see Him whom death could not destroy, nor grave hold.

And in loving and simple obedience, she obeyed.