Chaos! Grief! Fear! Confusion! What does it all mean? She knew that Jesus had been crucified and buried in this tomb on Friday. She had been there on the hillside; she had followed the burial party to the very end in this garden. And now, the heavy stone has been rolled away, and the tomb is empty! Where is his body? The burial linens are here. How can that be? Nothing makes sense; no one would remove the shroud to steal the body. What has happened?

And then, as she stood weeping outside the tomb. she heard Jesus calling her name. She recognized him and realized it was true. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. It is Easter, and he is risen! Salvation is accomplished . The Lord has redeemed us, each and all, at all times and in all places.

We have all experienced dark times when we didn’t know how we could make it through the night, when it seemed impossible just to keep putting one foot in front of the other, when there seemed to be no end to the pain and confusion surrounding us. That’s when Mary Magdalene brings hope. She comes to say, “There is life after death. I know. I have seen the Lord.’ “ That is the good news of the gospel. God doesn’t leave us in the dark nights of our despair. The Lord calls each of us by name and rescues us with the light of the Easter Sonrise.

Once we have experienced the Lord’s deliverance and know the liberating truth of Christ’s presence in our lives, God sends us out to share our Easter story with those who sit in darkness, to proclaim the message of redeeming love, to announce with Mary Magdalene, “I have seen the Lord.”