Read: John 20:1-18.
Mary Magdalene makes a confession of faith: “I have seen the Lord.” All Easter Sunday texts have a common theme that emphasizes telling about our faith. In Psalm 118 it is in the form of praise to God. In 1 Corinthians 15 it is Paul affirming the message that Christ rose from the dead and we have the promise of Christ destroying death, the last enemy. In Acts 10 it is Peter speaking the faith in the home of Cornelius, a new gentile believer. Peter states that the message has already spread throughout Judea, a message that announces that Jesus Christ “is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead” (v. 42). Finally in John 20, Mary, Peter, and the beloved disciple [John] all have a unique way of responding to the news of Jesus’ resurrection. However followers of Jesus respond, it is to speak the faith out loud that Jesus has been raised from the dead and will ascend to “my God and your God” (v. 17). How do you speak the faith out loud? Is it through a conversation with friends, by using a table grace, by offering a blessing? What works for you? How might you speak your faith to another today?
Pray: Dear Lord Jesus, you who rose from the dead and have promised to destroy death, give us a living faith to gladly speak our faith out loud with confidence. Amen.