“Jesus calls Mary Magdalene by name, resurrection brings personal restoration.”
John 20:11–18 Easy: But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. While she was crying, she bent down and looked inside the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been. One was sitting where the head had been; the other was sitting where the feet had been. The angels asked Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?” Mary answered, “They took away the body of my Lord, and I don’t know where they put him.” When Mary said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the man in charge of the garden. So, she said to him, “Did you take him away, sir? Tell me where you put him. I will go and get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and said in Aramaic, “Rabboni,” which means “Teacher.” Jesus said to her, “You don’t need to hold on to me! I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my followers and tell them this: ‘I am going back to my Father and your Father. I am going back to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the followers and told them, “I saw the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her.
Father God, You, called Mary by name and turned her sorrow into joy; meet us in our grief, speak our name with tenderness, and send us to share the good news we have received. Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Jesus Precious Name Amen.
Jesus opens the Scriptures and is recognized, not by sight, but by the familiar way He blesses, gives thanks, and breaks bread, both before and after the resurrection. This is the table where the risen Jesus is still known, and we too should follow this example when we eat.
Luke 24:13–35 Easy: Later on that same day, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village. The village was called Emmaus. It was about 11 kilometres from Jerusalem. They were talking to each other about all the things that had happened. While they were talking like this, Jesus himself came near to them. He started to walk along with them. They saw him, but for some reason they did not recognize him. Jesus asked them, ‘What are you talking about while you walk along the road?’ They stood still and they seemed sad. One of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘Many things have happened in Jerusalem in the last few days. Are you the only visitor here that does not know about it?’ Jesus asked them, ‘What things have happened?’ They replied, ‘The things that happened to Jesus who was from Nazareth. He was a prophet from God. He did many great things and he spoke powerful messages. God showed that his message was true. All the people believed him. Then the leaders of the priests and our rulers took hold of him. They gave him to the Roman ruler. They said that he had done bad things and that he ought to die. So, they killed him by fixing him to a cross. But before that we had hoped that he would save the people of Israel. We hoped that he would make us free again. There are other things too. Today is the third day since Jesus died.After all this happened, some women in our group surprised us. Early this morning, they went to the place where Joseph had put him. But they did not find his body there. So, they returned to us and said, “Some angels appeared to us. They have told us that Jesus is alive.” So, some people from our group went to the place where his body had been. They found everything just the same as the women had said. But they did not see Jesus.’ Jesus then said to them, ‘How silly you are! You are very slow to believe everything that God’s prophets said long ago. You should have known that the Messiah had to die. Only then would he return to heaven and show how great and powerful he is.’ Jesus then began to explain to them what Moses and all God’s prophets had taught. He showed them what they wrote in the Bible about himself. Then they came near to the village that the disciples were going to. It seemed that Jesus would continue his journey. But they wanted him to stop there. They said to him, ‘Please stay in our home with us. It is getting late, and it will soon be night.’ So, Jesus went into their house to stay with them. He sat down to eat with them. He took the bread and he thanked God for it. He broke it into pieces, and he gave some to them. Their eyes became clear and they recognized him. But then he disappeared, and they could no longer see him. They said to each other, ‘When he talked to us, it was like a fire that was burning inside us. We felt it while we were walking along the road. We also felt it when he was explaining God’s message in the Bible.’ Immediately they got up and they returned to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 apostles and other people who were with them. The people there told the two disciples, ‘It is true! The Lord Jesus is alive again. He has appeared to Simon!’ Then the two disciples spoke to the whole group. They told what had happened to them on the road to their village. They told how they recognized Jesus when he broke the bread into pieces in their home.
Lord Jesus, you met the discouraged on the road to Emmaus and opened Scripture to their hearts; open our eyes to recognize you in Scripture and in simple acts of kindness, turn our confusion into joy, and send us to share what we have seen. Love You, thank You, praise You and give You all the honor and glory in Your Precious Name Amen.
