…you, O Lord,
….are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
….and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 86:15 NLT
John 20:11-18 (<<click here to read the passage)
Today at the end of my routes, I stopped in the office to say goodbye to our new assistant for our Transportation Director. In the course of our short conversation, I made mention of an individual I know who is dealing with the onset of dementia and that their response to many occurrences in life is that they are the most beautiful ever. My fellow worker quickly responded that that was a wonderful response to life – always having a positive outlook on what, for many of us, has become repetitive and somewhat humdrum.
This morning, Karen and I texted between my routes, and she made comment about the beautiful sunrise this morning and how all the leaves we have down now made for a “pretty orange and yellow carpet” in our yard. As we wrapped up our conversation, she encouraged me to “enjoy God’s artwork” on my route and rounded it out by her love for His “choice of colors”.
Others may not have even looked out to see the beautiful sunrise but may have been distracted by their morning routine. They may have seen the leaves, but they only reminded them of all the work that yet needed doing.
My friend, I was reminded, had a wonderfully positive outlook on life. My wife had a like mindset in our earlier conversation. In both cases, they were looking for and embraced the beauty before them. And when they looked, they saw.
In today’s text, Mary Magdalene “was standing outside the tomb sobbing” v11 AMP She spoke with two angels dressed in white inside the tomb and it didn’t even phase her. Any other time in Scripture when someone interacted with an angle there was fear or at least some response of great humility. She didn’t even seem to know who and what they were. When she turned around and saw Jesus standing there her reaction was the same. She thought He was the gardener.
She was looking for Jesus’ body and in her extreme state of grief, she didn’t recognize Him because she wasn’t looking for Him – at least not in the state in which she saw Him. She didn’t expect him to be alive.
Both the angels and Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” vs13,15 AMP
A source I discovered online said that when Jesus repeated the question the angels asked, He reinforced for us as readers that the joy that should be experienced is absent here. In other words, by asking her, “Why are you crying?” He is saying that there is no reason to cry. Or better yet that she’s crying because she has lost her Lord and Savior, but He is standing right in front of her!
He says her name and recognition dawns on her. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). v16 NLT
My source goes on to say, “Often in life, good things come our way, but we do not recognize them because we do not expect them or we are looking for something else.” *
My friend and my wife both expected to see the beauty that God gives us in this life, and they found it. That’s not always our first go-to, but we really should strive to make it so! Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the joy that should be experienced. It’s all around us!
Nov 11th, 2021, Thurs, 6:11 pm
