Bible Reading: Matthew 28:5-8, 19-20
The angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples:
'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.
There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."
A Reflection:
Our first child, Tom, was born just before ten o’clock in the evening in Cheltenham; we were living in Tewkesbury at the time. Sometime after that I decided, rather than phone my parents with the good news about the birth of their first grandchild, I would drive straight over and tell them in person. This was many years before smart phones and selfies, so I went clutching a polaroid photograph. My parents lived in Leicester. Goodness knows what time it was when I woke them up, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and I don’t remember them complaining!
Good news has to be shared.
The women visiting the tomb of Jesus on the first Easter Day, expecting a body to embalm, found nothing of the sort. Instead an angel told them that Jesus had risen and that they were to go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.
Good news has to be shared.
Six weeks later, after a number of resurrection experiences, on one occasion to over five hundred people, Jesus ascends back to heaven leaving his disciples with the instructions, ‘Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples’.
Good news has to be shared.
Why did you choose to be a follower of Jesus? What difference does your Christian faith make to your life? What have you discovered recently about God and about faith? Whatever your answer is to these questions, there will be someone in your family, your friends or your acquaintances who would be really interested to know about it. People may question your theology but they cannot question your experience.
Good news has to be shared. Who could you go and tell?
Pray:
Lord Jesus, thank you for all you have done for me and for all you have taught me.
Give me the courage to go and tell others, so that they too may see and believe.
Amen
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord