Dark before the Dawn
John 20:1-10
Have you noticed?
It IS always darkest before the dawn
I wonder why
Have you?
When at the ranch, you can go outside around 4 am and see millions of stars
More than you can ever see in a city, or even a small town
It is dark
When growing up, I believed I could see the edge of night
Not the soap opera, but where the light stopped and darkness started
Of course, the saying also speaks to emotional darkness
It was dark at the tomb that morning
So dark you could not see the truth in front of your face
Mary found the tomb empty
He was gone
Think of the pain, the darkness
She could not understand
She did not know
It is always darkest just before the dawn
She went to find someone to share the darkness
Peter and John joined her, but walked away
Covered in darkness
She was left alone
But, she was not alone
You and I forget that, too
We are never alone
“Mary”
She only half heard the word
And did not recognize the voice
When the darkness comes, it not only covers our eyes, but our ears
And, even our heart
“Mary”
This time it came through
This time she heard
And her cry is echoed throughout the ages
He has risen. He is alive.
I have seen him
Christ has Risen
Some days are darker than others
Some days are happy and bright
Weddings, childbirth, promotions
Most days are average
Nothing major happening good or bad
Some days are dark
Days of loss
Days of fear
Divorce, death, losing a job
Dark days . . . even black days
Days you wonder if you can survive
Days the whole world crashes down on you
Days you find yourself face down in a corner
Days of “why”
Days you cannot find God
Days that feel like Jesus is gone
Days no one wants to share with you
The world walks away
We do not understand these days
We do not enjoy these days
We do not look forward to these days
We know they are coming, but we hope we can duck them
But, we cannot
We all face them
Some, it seems, face more of those days than others do
Mary forgot
We forget
The scriptures tell us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5, Heb 13:5)
Mary felt forsaken
We feel forsaken
We cannot see around the corner to tomorrow
Mary could not see Easter from the tomb
“Where have you taken his body?”
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
We’ve all felt that
We’ve all been there
Today may look dark
It did to Mary
But remember,
It is always darkest just before the dawn
And, “All things work for the good to those that love the Lord and are called according to his commandments” (Romans 8:28)
And, “I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow”
He has risen
He is alive
On this day of resurrection, renewal and rebirth, let us stand and pray
To read more go to www.opendoorstochrist.org
Rev. O. K. Neal
