Mark 16:6-8. Mary Magdalene, Mary, Jesus' mother, and Salmone have gone to Jesus' tomb to annoint His body. They find a young man dressed in white sitting in the tomb and are amazed. He says to them "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; and there you will see him, as he told you." They are filled with trembling and astonishment, "and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid."

Can you imagine the mixed emotions, the overwhelming-ness of this situation? It is almost impossible to put ourselves in the place of these women. Jesus died, they saw Him die most horribly. They know He has been buried. In the midst of their agony, in a loving effort to treat His body with respect, they set out for His tomb with spices to anoint His body. So that is their state of mind - they are going to tend to a lifeless body while mourning the death of that person. They even wonder who will roll the stone from the tomb for them. It would be beyond sanity for them to expect anything else, yet when they get to the tomb they find the stone rolled away, no body, and a young man who tells them He is risen! I just really think I would not have been able to process what was happening, it is totally and completely unbelievable! Their agony would have changed instantly to some kind of mixture of joy and hope and maybe even doubt - how can a person handle something like that?

The angel tells them to go and tell the others, but they do not - they are too astonished and even fearful. They say nothing. I can totally understand that, and it gives me hope, because as I have encountered situations that are unbelievable lately, and learned unbelievable truths, I often feel a mixture of disbelief and horror that these things could be true (horror because many of the things I am learning are not joyful, like the Resurrection, but evil, sadly). But I know that they are true, and I often feel that I am being asked to say something, to try to wake people up. But often, especially in the initial stages of learning these things, I am too overwhelmed and doubtful to do so, I think to myself "This can't possibly be true," even though I know it is. And so I say nothing, I keep silent, possibly against what God is asking me to do.

This passage gives me hope that the Lord will still accomplish His purposes even if I drop the ball. But it also makes me think about my own behavior and emotions, and realize that I have to listen more clearly and try to obey more promptly.