The Precious Present
Luke: Rev Ray Goddess is sharing with us about the empty box, the tomb being the empty box in this week's devotions.
Ray: Mary Magdalene had woken up. It was early in the morning and she'd gone to the tomb, probably to start planning how they were going to roll the heavy stone away from the tomb so that she could get to the body and prepare the body, which was custom in those days.
But when she got there, the present, Jesus Christ, was missing, and all she found was the empty box. The tomb was empty!
Finding Value in the Unexpected
This reminds me of when someone pulls a prank on you and gives you a large present, but when you open it, you find it was just the outer box, and there’s another box inside. And then you open that one and there’s a smaller box, in a smaller box, in a smaller box, and it ends up that you have this small little box left. That small little box has the present.
But here’s the point. That little box is actually often quite more valuable than a large present in a bigger box, because generally speaking, it's a jewel. It's some other piece of jewellery that has been bought for you.
The present was missing, the box was empty, and nobody knew where the present had gone. While she's speaking and they ask, "Why are you crying? Why are you weeping?" She turns around and she sees somebody standing there, and she thinks it's the gardener! Mary even then did not recognize the present.
Recognizing Jesus by Name
You see, it's very similar to when we give that present to a child and they open it, they see it. And the truth is that they don't know what it is and they don't know what to do with it. And so they play with the box. But then as parents, we come and show them what the present is, and then they're excited about the present and forget the box.
This is what happened with Mary. She didn't recognize the present. She thought that she was speaking to the gardener. But then Mary has an experience. Her focus is removed from the box, from the empty tomb to the present – Jesus Christ. Jesus says one word to her, "Mary." And with that calling, she recognizes that this is Jesus.
The good news is that Jesus continues to call all of us by name. All we need to do is acknowledge the present of Jesus in our lives, the presence of the present Jesus.
