The Best News Ever

We remembered our Lord’s execution on Friday.

After Jesus was dead, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body. He and another man wrapped the body of Jesus in a burial cloth and spices, placing it in a nearby tomb. The next day was a solemn sabbath, so they were pressed for time.

Women came to the tomb when the sabbath was over. I gather that they planned to do a more thorough job than had been possible earlier. What they found was — unexpected.

“On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed.
“He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him.
“But go and tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.”‘”
(Mark 16:5–7)

“And he replied to them, ‘What sort of things?’ They said to him, ‘The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
…
“Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning
“and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive.
“Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.’
“And he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
“Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?'”
(Luke 24:19, 22–26)

“When they had gathered together they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’
“He answered them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.
“But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
“When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.”
(Acts 1:6–9)

It took two angels to break up that crowd. (November 27, 2016)

That was about two millennia back. The disciples moved out, spreading the best news humanity’s ever had.

God loves us. All of us. Each of us. And wants to adopt us. (Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:3–5; Peter 2:3–4; Catechism, 1–3, 27–30, 52, 1825, 1996)

Accepting God’s offer isn’t all good times and parties. But oceans of joy surround us, even when we don’t notice them. Remembering that isn’t easy for me. But it’s a good idea:

• “Choosing Light or Darkness”
  (March 11, 2018)
• “Celebrating Ever Since”
  (December 25, 2017)
• “Seeing the Big Picture”
  (November 26, 2017)
• “Anxiety Optional”
  (October 8, 2017)
• “The Eighth Day: Two Millennia and Counting”
  (April 16, 2017)