Easter Tuesday 25 March

Exodus 12:28-39
Psalms 103, 111, 114
1 Corinthians 15:12-28
Mark 16:9-20

Mark 16:9-20

The Weather & Resurrection

Today is a sunny day. By Houston standards it is cold. After 3 hours of napping the dog has just managed to get off the sofa. There are days when there is no gleam of sunshine among the clouds; there is no hint of sky- blue or otherwise. Just grayness covering the earth; the weather even mak TV chat shows seem attractive. What was the weather on that first Good Friday- the day that Jesus was hung on the cross? Was it cold and dismal or was the sun shinning brightly overhead? Probably the latter as the average March maximum temperature for Jerusalem is in the high 50sº, or at least it should have been sunny but God covered the sun with darkness for three hours. Did Mary notice the weather the day she watched her son die?

It seems as if God also gone into hibernation. He has forgotten that clouds disperse and the sun shines. The gray is static. Will the brilliant orange crocus ever blaze through the brown earth as the Olympic torch heralds the games? God is working his purpose out just as he was on the Good Friday. The world was grim yet in three days there was rejoicing- well there would have been rejoicing if anybody could have understood what was happening. The disciples saw the empty tomb and were bewildered. Mary Magdalene claimed that she saw Jesus and that he spoke to her but who knew on which side of sanity she really lived. There was a great emptiness of tomb and heart. And yet God was working his purpose out. Jesus filled the road to Emmaus with his knowledge and love. Light filled the travelers’ hearts. Behind the gray clouds God still works out his purpose. The crocus will bloom and God will send his rays of sunshine into our life. Hopefully we shall recognize it for what it is and give God thanks for his purpose.