Resurrection

"Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'

Jesus said to her 'Mary'.

She turned and said to Him 'Rabboni' (which is to say, Teacher).

Jesus said to her 'Do not cling to me, 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, to My God and your God.'" - John 20:14-17

It occurs to me that we often take for granted the power of Resurrection. We know the ending of course, so that helps. But do we really grasp the reality of Christ rising from the dead?

We're insulated from death in so many ways today. Death is something that often happens in movies but is bloodless, or carefully hidden from us and controlled through the societal mechanisms of mourning and funerals. Compare this to the recent disaster in Haiti, where Death literally stalked the streets and for one moment, the world was confronted by death in its raw, ugly form.

It's this death that the apostles and Mary were confronted with that day: the raw, bleeding tortured body of their Master, naked and crucified, wrapped and sealed in a tomb. Mary did not recognize Christ? It's quite likely that she wouldn't have, because she simply wasn't expecting to see Him - He was dead and His body was in no shape to appear as a man walking around normally. To see Him who you saw die, to see Him walking around normally and calling your name - how could Mary do aught but cling to Him?

And for us - if we truly understood death and its finality, the reality of eternal choices and the great gift we have been offered, how is it we can also do anything but be stunned, humbled, and accepting of it? How can we be passive about the offer to live beyond the grave, or in telling others about it?