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1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? ”Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 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 20:1-18 NIV)
A blessed and happy Monday to you, dear Reader, and all of the ConCafe Family! May God's rich blessings follow you throughout this week as we begin a very special Holy Week. May we pray for the family of Mr. Bill Pollard of Edinburg, Texas. Bill passed away on Sunday, April 10th after a short illness. Bill is the husband of The Rev. Norma Hinojosa Pollard of El Buen Pastor UMC of Edinburg. May God's comfort be with her and her family. Also, prayers for our youngest grandson, Eli Ryan Muñoz, who has a virus. He's had a fever, has vomited some, and just is not the energetic ball of fire that we're used to! May God's healing touch be with him. Prayers for one another. Lift up your prayers to the Lord, and continue to pray for peace in Ukraine. Prayers for our pastors who begin this special week and who need our prayers of inspiration, strength, protection, and victory!
This is the Victory passage as was shared by the Apostle John. John is believed to have been the youngest of the Twelve, and his autobrographical information is hinted at in various parts of this passage. This passage is from that Sunday we call Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. Early in that morning, it is a woman, Mary Magdalene, who comes to the tomb to, she believes, to prepare the body for burial. As the passages from the other gospels shared, a major concern for those who would be preparing Jesus for eternal rest, worried about how they would be able to get the huge stone to be rolled away from the tomb. Yet, here was the tomb open! So she returns to the Upper Room and tells the disciples that the tomb is open. So Peter, among the oldest of the 12, runs, as does John the youngest, and of course, John wins, but stops at the entrance of the tomb fearful of what he might see inside. The older Simon Peter, enters and finds the linen wrappings that had been placed on Jesus; it was John who enters next and the scripture says that he believed. And they retuned back to where they had been staying, leaving Mary alone. She was crying for her Master and as she peeks inside the tomb she sees two angels seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head, the other at the foot, and they ask, "Woman, why are you crying?" She can only say that they have taken away her Lord, and knows not where they had taken Him. Then Jesus Himself asks Mary why she was crying. "Who are you looking for?" Mary thinks this man has to be the gardener and demands to know where he has taken the body. The Risen Lord calls her by name, "Mary." She knows His voice and exlaims, "Rabboni!" It is assumed that she tried to hold on to Jesus for He tells her not to hold on to Him for He has not yet ascended to the Father and to go instead to her brothers and to tell them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." She runs back and as charged, tells the men: "I have seen the Lord!" And she also shared the other things Jesus had told her.
God trusted this woman, Mary Magdalene, with the task and joy of sharing with the Disciples the Good News of Resurrection. She returns back to eleven disciples of whom only one at this point believes that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Of the one hundred twenty five followers that came to Jerusalem with Jesus, only one man and one woman believed that Jesus had indeed defeated death and sin by coming back to life. Of the 125, only three were strong enough and brave enough to go to the cemetery in the dark to prepare His body for burial and while expecting their task to be tough instead one finds faith in Jesus to truly beat death; the other, the woman, comes to faith in having seen and spoken and even touched the Lord; and Peter, well, he knew something had happened but was not yet sure of what that was. All of those present for Good Friday would come to full faith, for the Lord appeared to them and to many, to prove that He was indeed risen.
We come back to 2022 A. D., Year of Our Lord. The question is what do you believe? What do you proclaim and share with others? Do you know that there are many who have yet to hear the Good News of God's love and of God's power to raise the dead? And that that same God has the power to remove our sins and make us whole. It's not a victory if you don't believe enough to make it your victory. Yes, many in the world believe and day by day God is reaching more and more, but until we make the decision to believe and accept, our work is not yet done. Won't you come to faith in He who defeated death and sin, because of His love for you?
PRAYER: Loving Father, we celebrate this entire week with all that it holds for us. We want to see Jesus in our lives and He risen and among us in incredible ways. May we seek to share the good news with excitement and passion for we truly believe and accept that all of this was done for us; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share the excitement of hope in your life with someone today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
