Easter is undoubtedly an astonishing reality, a cosmic act of God that divides all of history into two. The truth of the empty tomb and the risen Christ has brought us all together, without which there would have been no Easter to celebrate and no Church. At this time, my thoughts go out to two specific portions of the scriptures.

First is the thought of Mary Magdalene outside the tomb of Jesus before the break of dawn. As she walked to the tomb that morning, the memories of the gruesome torture and suffering her master bore hanging on the cross must have vividly played themselves out in her mind. Her grief and despair is compounded as she was denied the opportunity to anoint his broken body after his death. And then to make matters worse, she finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. It is in this emotional backdrop that she has a personal encounter with her master who asks her, “ Woman, why are you weeping? Who is it you are looking for? ”

As we step into Church this Easter, the question that we need to answer is, who is it that we are looking for today?

Are we like the women who got up before the break of dawn and went to the tomb, just wanting to pay their last respects, maybe reflect a while, and then get on with their old lives, as they were? Have we had a personal encounter with the risen Christ and has that encounter transformed our lives?

If Easter has not been a reality and a personal encounter with our Lord Jesus, our faith is in vain. For in Him alone is the hope and the assurance, that the day has dawned and that the long night of despair has ended. There would be no more tears, “ Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living, just because He lives.”

My thoughts move next to the tomb of Lazarus, whom Jesus loved so much and raised from the dead. The scripture talks of Lazarus coming out of the tomb alive, but still bound in his grave clothes. Jesus instructs the people standing by, to loosen his grave clothes and let him go. Have you ever wondered why Jesus, who could use His authority over death and the grave to raise Lazarus, left him bound with these grave clothes?

The significance of Christ’s choice here is very important. He may work miracles in our lives but then He also wants us to strengthen our faith so that we may voluntarily remove the grave clothes and be free from our bondages. While He gives us new life; He instructs us to help each other to remove the grave clothes; the tears, the failures; the regrets and long cherished resentments, the sinful ways and everything that leads to our spiritual degradation.

Ironically, man armed with his pride and selfish ambition is busy today binding others around him with the grave clothes, instead of unfastening them. He loves sitting on the judgment seat and throwing stones at others, barely concerned of the log in his own eye. He does not hesitate stepping on anything or anybody that comes his way, as long as he is able to satisfy his insatiable desire to accumulate worldly treasures of wealth, power and fame. How painful it is to realize that very often our relationships, our families and our Church, do not stand out as exceptions in this regard.

At this time of Easter, may the power of the risen Christ help us to lift each other up so that we can enjoy a joyful and meaningful walk with our Lord Jesus?