We look in our rear view mirrors a lot. Some days we see beautiful scenery, like sunrises and sunsets. Other days, it seems like everyone is on our back.

Jesus never looked back, really, despite how he was treated on a daily basis. He kept moving toward his calling, which was to eventually die on the cross for our sins. The Bible tells us how he arose from the dead on the third day, following his brutal crucifixion.

Easter, which is the Christian celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, is Sunday, April 17. Those Easter eggs which come in all kinds of shapes and sizes these days are meant to resemble the tomb in which Jesus was placed.

I always find the birds to sing a little sweeter and the skies, no matter the forecast, to be a little more beautiful on Easter morning. Don’t you?

Imagine what it was like the day that Mary went to the tomb and it was empty all those many years ago. She could have panicked, as some of us might have. Instead, she didn’t tarry as she had an important message of Good News to deliver to the disciples.

The Empty Tomb (John 20: 1-15 NIV)

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple out ran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

What are we looking for this spring? Wealth and prominence? A reason to forgive? Perhaps an outlet, a listening ear, to confess having wronged someone, intentionally or unintentionally?

No matter what you’re looking for this season, there’s Hope. There are so many good churches in this community that welcome those hurting or just those need a fresh start. The Bible is also full of great answers for those searching.