Few words shatter history. But when a couple of devoted followers of Jesus arrived at dawn to sit at the tomb where he lay, these women received a message crackling with life and power.

Instead of death, an open tomb and an angel greeted the women. The angel told them, I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: he has risen, just as he said.

He has risen. Three words whose magnificent underlying reality shook the world. Over the centuries billions of people accompanied these women to follow the risen Jesus.

The words of the angel reverberate today, offering light in the darkness, and bringing hope to a desperate world.

He is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Matthew 28 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan