Captain Eunice Blakey, Hexham Salvation Army Corps comments on John 20 v 1 - 18:

In a world which over the last year has been filled with gloom and anxiety, Easter comes like a beam of light into the darkness; it brings hope into our lives as it did on that first Easter day.

If there ever was a time of gloom and despondency it was then.

The followers of Jesus were steeped in gloom and sadness; the one they had loved and followed had been taken from them and crucified, life would never be the same again.

It was while in this frame of mind that Mary visited the tomb of Jesus when her grief was changed to joy; the tomb lay empty, Jesus was not there (but hadn’t he told them that on the third day he would rise again.)

A verse in our hymn book says this:

But death and the grave couldn’t hold Him,

he tore them asunder for thee,

on the third day He rose

in spite of his foes,

and he saved a poor sinner like me.

Then Jesus called Mary by name, and she realised she was in the presence of her Living Lord and she said to him – Rabboni, Master.

We need to seek Jesus in these difficult days and, if we seek him, we will surely find him; he will call us by our name as we respond to him.

Our passage for this week finishes with v18 which tells us Mary went back to the others telling them ‘I have seen the Lord.’

My prayer for you this Easter is that you will seek and find Jesus for yourself, and find that peace and joy only he can give in these difficult days.