Easter Day begins not with joy, but with shock.
Luke describes how the women who went to the tomb of Jesus were anguished to find it empty and terrified by the presence of angels.
As the message of resurrection sank in, the women rushed to tell the disciples who were hiding. But their message seemed to the men like an idle tale and they were dismissed.
Only when Peter saw the empty tomb for himself did he realise the astounding truth - Jesus had been raised to life. Luke records that he was amazed. No wonder, resurrection takes some believing. The dead, in the normal course of events, stay dead. There is nothing more certain.
Yet within hours, rumours of Christ's resurrection were confirmed by his appearance in person. And since that first Easter, millions of men and women have encountered him in their own lives.
A cheery "Happy Easter!" hardly does justice to the shock of resurrection. Feel the shock of it. Then let your astonishment give way to awe and joy.
Photo reproduced under Creative Commons attribution licence, credit: FranUlloa
