King of Glory

Nine - ALIVE!

Mary knew she had to do it. She met her friends at the entrance to the cemetery. They didn't want to open it, but they had to make sure the body of their Lord was properly cared for. She heaved a heavy sigh, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and gathered her veil closer to her, wrapping the spices and ointments inside it.

When they neared the place where He was buried, a man and a youg boy were working a side garden. That wasn't so unusual. Most people were at work early before the day became too warm. 

"Why do you seek the living among the dead?" The man said. The women's faces showed mutual shock and surprise at his question. "He is not here. He has Risen!" Again they glanced at each other, not understanding the strange man's words. They continued on, not sure if they should believe him.

"Let's go see if the guards will move the stone for us." One of the other women said.

"What do you want?" The guard said a litte too loudly. 

"We've come to anoint the body of our Lord, as is a custom." The guard rolled his eyes but led them to the tomb. He motioned for two others to come with him. 

"You won't be able to move that stone. We'll help you." The guards laughed. 

As they approached, the scene before them unfolded. The stone was already moved: Broken, in fact. The guards didn't know what to think. A crash of glass followed by the fragrance of the spices and oils filled the immediate air around them when Mary dropped them on the ground to cover her face. 

Before the guards could say or do anything, she walked off, crying. The other women left in tears as well. 

"Woman! Why do you weep?" The man's voice, familiar to Mary, startled her. It must have been the caretaker.

"They've taken the body of my Lord, and I don't know where they've placed Him." At that moment, she felt the settling peace that was always there in the presence of Jesus, but didn't have time to register what was happening when He spoke her name.

"Mary." She fell to her knees at His feet. "Don't touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Instead, go tell the disciples and Peter what you've witnessed here." 

She ran off straight to where the disciples had been since Jesus had been crucified: In the upper room. She knocked and knocked hard, waiting for an answer. 

"Who is it?" John's voice ... good. 

"John? It's Mary. Let me in. NOW!"

"Why are you in such a hurry, Mary? What's going on?"

"Is Peter here?" She asked, not answering John yet. She wanted to make sure everyone heard her, and heard her clearly when she told them about Jesus.

"Yes, I'm here." Peter answered from a corner of the room sleepily. 

"Good. I have seen the Lord!" She said before weeping once again.

"You mean you went to the tomb and anointed Him?" 

"NO. Well, yes! But..." Mary tried to find words to help them understand.

"Here, sit. Have some water. Obviously you're winded." John encouraged her.

"I went with the other women to do the ceremonial anointing. The guards at the tomb went with us to help move the stone. We saw a man and his son. He said: 'Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not there. He is risen.' When we arrived at the opening, the stone wasn't only rolled away, but cracked. And Jesus wasn't there. I was devistated and ran off crying. Another Man asked me: 'Why do you weep?' I explained about the tomb being empty and thinking they'd moved Him. Then He said my name. MARY. He told me to come and tell you all that He is Alive and going ahead of you to Galilee."

"You need to rest, Mary. You've had a tough couple of days. I think you need more sleep." John tried reassuring.

"You think I'm lying? He appeared to me. Why shouldn't He? I stood there at His feet and watched Him die!"

"We know, Mary, we know. We all know what happened."

"Don't believe me. Go see for yourselves!" She said before once again placing her face into her hands and bawling.

Peter was already at the door with John behind him. They ran as fast as they could to the burial place. John ran ahead of Peter, as he was a few years younger, and made it to the tomb. They saw the burial shroud, but the one that went over His head was folded and put off to one side. Peter went in and picked it up.

"John..." Peter said. But that was all.

John nodded, smiling. "Yes, it means exactly what you're thinking. It happened. It all happened exactly as He said it would." They walked back towards the city and the place where the others waiting for them.

In the Upper Room, they prayed together, weeping. Some still weren't sure it was true. As they finished praying, Jesus stood in their midst. Their hearts burst with fear and joy all at once.

He had truly risen from the dead, just as He promised!

"Peace be with you."