Station #8 of the Resurrection Story

Station #8 ….. Mary Magdalene Sees the Empty Tomb

But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus’ body had been laid. They said to her, “Woman, why do you weep?” “They took my Master,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there. But she didn’t recognize him.

Worth a Thousand Words: Angels and Mary Magdalene with Risen Christ, Giotto

A Reflection:

The mercy seat was to be adorned with an angel, a cherub, on each end. The cherubim stood facing each other from the ends, with swings spread upward, overshadowing this sacred center of mercy. The golden cherubim’s gaze was set firmly on the mercy seat… Can you imagine the divine appointment as God called out the names of two of his cherubs and beckoned them before the throne, then sent them to earth to guard the most precious body that has ever lived? Surely as the body of their beloved lay in the tomb, these two angels stood constant guard, one at the head, one at the feet, eyes cast solidly in one direction. Surely their gaze never wavered from the One they adored. (Beth Moore, from her study on the OT Tabernacle)

Resurrection, Present Tense:

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels – everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. He was supreme in the beginning and – leading the resurrection parade – he is supreme in the end. (Colossians 1:15-19)