“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
Luke 24:1-5
“The most frequent advice of the Master given to those who came to Him for healing and help, was simply, ‘Believe!’ ‘Have faith!’ Why? Because faith is the basis for the fulfillment of every good thing in our life.”
Mary L. Kupferle, Unity Minister and Author
Pain easily gets our attention. That has survival value if we let pain serve it true purpose as a messenger, a signal that something isn’t working. Pain is a sign that we need to do something different. But if we believe that pain has the last word, has come to stay, is the end of the story, it turns into suffering and it stops us. It stops our hope. It stops our dreams. It stops our fulfillment. Pain misunderstood and clung to deadens us.
The women disciples came to Jesus’ tomb bearing spices in anticipation of anointing his corpse. Reasonable enough. Except for one very important thing. Jesus had repeatedly told his followers that he would not be bound by death. He had told them that he would overcome it. In the power of Spirit he would rise. They probably didn’t understand him or dismissed it as too far out of possibility to be believed. Nonetheless they loved Jesus and marveled at his power. When he was so unjustly crucified by insecure people who couldn’t tolerate his light any longer, Jesus’ followers grieved and mourned. It was a dark time. It seemed like pain had come to stay, had the last word, was the end of the story. It seemed that the vision they had caught of God’s Presence through Jesus was dead. It was a time of great despair.
But Jesus wasn’t dead. God’s power wasn’t defeated. At the tomb two men in dazzling clothing appeared to the women and said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” That’s the great Truth for our lives. Feel and face pain when it comes. Heed its message of change. Yet do not cling to pain. Do not let it turn into suffering. Do not let it stop you. Do not let it deaden you. As Jesus did, connect with the Presence of God in you. Connect with God’s power. Let your soul’s dreams live. Rise up with faith in good, faith in yourself, faith in God’s love for you. Rise up. You are among the living and you have much to give. “He is not here, but has risen.”
Easter Resurrection Blessings of Love and Light,
Rev. Anna
