Sometimes good news can arrive as a welcome sign like the first signs of Spring. Good news can be delivered in the most unusual, unexpected ways. It can sometimes be delivered after bad news has shut every possible door, slammed every open window and shattered every longing heart. I've experienced enough bad news in my life to respect the complex emotions that explode within a broken heart. I have wept my share of bitter tears. I've sunk into a place of dark despair. There have been moments when I felt like I just could not go on. As I reflect on those moments in my life now, I become aware of how foundational they were to my spiritual life and how instrumental they were in forming the person God has called me to be.
Imagine standing outside Jesus' tomb with Mary Magdalene. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help you experience the moment afresh. Don't rush it. Bring the bad news. Feel the widening, gaping hole of loss in your heart. Allow hot tears to sting your eyes and wet your clothes. Fall to your knees and cry out. And then, just when the moment is right, look into the tomb itself.
Where did the angels come from? They weren't there before. The angels inquire, "Why are you crying?" What has been taken away? Look around you. Grief has blinded you to a greater reality. Often we cannot see something when its standing right before our very eyes. But then we listen for the name. Of course we know him but we don't understand. How can someone who was dead be alive? But then a warning. Don't hold on. Don't cling.
Jesus had previously called his followers 'fishers of men,' 'servants,' and 'friends.' But, now feel the power of the revelation: "Go and say to my brothers, I am going to my father and your father, to my God and your God." A new relationship has sprung from what was once dead. You will be called sons and daughters of God our Father in heaven. You can experience the relationship that had previously been exclusively meant for one. But now, it is meant for all who believe.
Share the good news with someone standing outside the tomb. Tell them: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day and he appeared to Peter and the twelve. He also appeared to many faithful witnesses--even me.
"Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her." -John 20:18 NIV