Tuesday 11 April 2023

Today is Easter Tuesday, the 11th of April.

Salt of the Sound sings, ‘Praise To The Lord’. Can you join in with this hymn as we celebrate the Resurrection season?

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation
Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near
Join me in glad adoration
Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning
Sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with his love he befriends you
Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him
Let the Amen sound from his people again
Gladly forever adore him
Let the Amen sound from his people again
Gladly forever adore him

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John.

John 20:11-18

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she 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 in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

In today’s reading we hear of Mary’s journey from grief to joy as she encounters the risen Lord by the tomb.

In the first scene, we hear that Mary is weeping outside of the tomb.

Can you recall a time when you have wept at the loss of someone dear to you? Can you remember the feelings which accompanied this deep grief? Hold these gently with the Lord for a moment…

Perhaps you are still grieving now.

As Mary weeps, she bends over to look into the tomb and sees two angels in white, who ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

Can you imagine the strangeness of seeing that the body of Jesus has gone?

And the place where Jesus had been laid is now occupied by the presence of two angels.

Mary’s response to the angels, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him”, shows us maybe her shock and bewilderment.


Take a moment to stand with Mary at the empty tomb; can you emphasize with her in her grief?

As you listen to the reading once more, notice how the mood changes as Mary recognizes the risen Lord.

Can you let this encounter with the risen Lord, give you hope in your own experience of loss?

End this time of prayer by imagining that you are standing with Mary and Jesus at this moment of pure joy.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.