“七日的头一日，黎明的时候，那些妇女带着所预备的香料来到坟墓前。” – 路 24:1
复活节那天早上，我四点钟左右在阿巴拉契亚山道上的海托普小屋醒来。我无法入睡，起床后在黑暗中徒步走了一个小时，小心翼翼地躲避山道上的许多岩石。虽然我只瞥见一眼日出，但我一边走一边想着耶稣的复活。
在“七日的头一日”一大清早，几个跟随耶稣的妇女拖着沉重的步伐来到坟墓前，周五，耶稣被钉十字架的尸体就停放在那里。虽然她们充满了悲痛，但出于对祂的爱和尊重，她们带着香料来涂抹祂的身体。然而，令她们倍感惊讶的是，封堵坟墓洞口的石头已经滚开了，坟墓是空的！然后，更加令人惊讶的是，两个穿着雪白衣裳的天使向她们打招呼，说：“他不在这里，祂已经复活了！”
你能想像妇女们跑回耶路撒冷时感受到的惊讶和困惑吗？她们虽然不明白，却满心欢喜：耶稣活着！她们不能把这个消息藏在心里：她们必须告诉别人。新约中接下来的内容也都宣告了这些妇女在那天清晨所感受到的这种喜乐。
我们也应该被同样的喜乐充满，将耶稣的福音分享给我们在人生路上遇到的每个人。
祷告
主耶稣，求你每天在我们心中重新燃起对你复活的喜悦，并帮助我们将喜悦分享给我们遇到的每一个人。阿们。
路加福音 24:1-12
1七日的头一日，黎明的时候，那些妇女带着所预备的香料来到坟墓前，
2看见石头已经从坟墓滚开了。
3她们就进去，只是不见主耶稣的身体。
4正在猜疑之间，忽然有两个人站在旁边，衣服放光。
5妇女们惊怕，将脸伏地。那两个人就对她们说：“为什么在死人中找活人呢？
6他不在这里，已经复活了。当记念他还在加利利的时候怎样告诉你们，
7说：‘人子必须被交在罪人手里，钉在十字架上，第三日复活。’”
8她们就想起耶稣的话来，
9便从坟墓那里回去，把这一切事告诉十一个使徒和其余的人。
10那告诉使徒的就是抹大拉的马利亚和约亚拿，并雅各的母亲马利亚，还有与她们在一处的妇女。
11她们这些话使徒以为是胡言，就不相信。
12彼得起来，跑到坟墓前，低头往里看，见细麻布独在一处，就回去了，心里稀奇所成的事。
Early-morning Joy
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” – Luke 24:1
On Easter Sunday morning I woke around 4:30 a.m. at Hightop Hut on the Appalachian Trail. Unable to sleep, I got up and hiked for an hour in the dark, carefully dodging the many rocks along the trail. Though I caught only a glimpse of the sunrise, I thought about the resurrection of Jesus as I walked.
Very early “on the first day of the week,” a few women who had been following Jesus plodded to the tomb where his crucified, dead body had been laid on Friday. Though filled with grief, they brought spices to anoint his body out of love and respect. To their astonishment, however, they found that the stone sealing the tomb was rolled away and that the grave was empty! Then, even more surprising, two angels in blinding white clothes greeted the women, saying: “He is not here; he has risen!”
Can you imagine the women’s surprise and confusion as they raced back to Jerusalem? Though they didn’t understand, they were bursting with joy: Jesus is alive! They couldn’t keep this news to themselves: they had to tell others. And the rest of the New Testament announces the same joy that these women discovered that morning.
Filled with this same joy, we too should share the good news of Jesus with the people we meet on the paths of life.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, rekindle in our hearts each day the joy of your resurrection, and help us to share our joy with everyone we meet. Amen.
