An Easter message

Who are you looking for? 

These words were spoken into her world of confusion and chaos. So much had changed in such a few short hours. The one who had stepped into her broken world bringing hope and life had suddenly been snatched away. Crucified and buried. Now in the early morning darkness, Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb of Jesus only to find that the stone had been removed from the entrance. In the confusion and chaos of these hours came the voice asking—‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’

She was looking for the one who knew her best, the one who saw in her the best that she could be—the one who brought hope and fullness of life to living. 

Then, he said her name, and she had found who she was looking for. A new dawn was rising—the Son was shining into the darkness of her world.

Much of life for many people can be a journey described as ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’. In a world trying to find an answer there is a voice that reaches out encouraging us to shift our question from ‘what?’ to ‘who?’—‘Who are you looking for?’ What the human heart longs for will never be satisfied with the answer to the question of ‘what’. It is only in the person of Jesus that true life and life to the fullest, can be found.

In a world of darkness, confusion and chaos on many levels, Easter brings the reminder that a light has broken into that darkness. The empty tomb invites us to pause and with expectation look again for the ‘who’ that knows us best—the one who sees the best in us that can be.

Against the backdrop of an empty tomb, the risen Jesus speaks again to all who will listen— both believer and the seeking—asking ‘Who are you looking for?’ as he whispers your name. 

Commissioner Floyd Tidd
Territorial commander