April 8th, 2012
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The Lord Is Risen Today!

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Opening Prayer

Mighty Father, I thank You for the joy and peace of this day. Death is finished, love prevails, and Christ is alive.

Read LUKE 24:1-12

[1] On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. [2] They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, [3] but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. [4] While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. [5] In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? [6] He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: [7] ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” [8] Then they remembered his words. [9] When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. [10] It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. [11] But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. [12] Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“The great Easter truth is not that we are to live newly after death, but that we are to be new here and now by the power of the resurrection” (Phillips Brooks, 1835-93).

Think Further

“The Lord has risen!” Meditate quietly on today’s reading. In your imagination follow Mary Magdalene and the other women as they walk to the tomb. They are the first of many millions of pilgrims to enter the vacated tomb of Jesus. But all can experience the good news of Easter by entering the story told us by Luke. The women went to the tomb to mourn, but before the day was out they were rejoicing in the presence of the risen Jesus. Luke invites us to rejoice with them in their transition from lament to praise.

Having gone to the tomb as pilgrims, Mary and her companions become seekers. Finding the tomb empty, they “wonder. Something highly unusual had occurred, but what was it? Perplexity dissolves as the angel reminds them that Jesus had foretold his rising again (6,7, cf. 9:22; 18:32,33). Today, many wonder what Easter is all about. Pray that this Easter they may move from asking questions to finding answers. Also, take time to allow the Holy Spirit to deepen your own sense of awe in the face of Jesus’ victory over the grave.

The seekers become witnesses (9). The women are the first apostles—the earliest witnesses to the risen Christ! Initially, the other disciples don’t believe them (11). Chauvinistic prejudice prevails; the ancient world considered women unreliable witnesses. In the modern world, too, prejudice of varying kinds militates against accepting at face value the evidence for the resurrection. As you witness about the power of Jesus in your life, don’t allow prejudice to silence you. Pray that the authenticity of your testimony may move your friends to overcome prejudice and, like Peter, take steps to explore the facts (12).

Apply

How authentic is your life as a testimony to the risen Lord? How would you explain the resurrection to an interested non-believer?

Closing prayer

Risen Lord, infuse me with resurrection power so that I will have strength of will, steadiness of purpose, the ability to do, and the willingness to bear, to Your glory.

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