4月15日

標　　題： 你為甚麼哭﹖

經　　節： 天使對她說：「婦人，你為甚麼哭？」（約翰福音二十章13節）

抹大拉的馬利亞還清楚記得耶穌拯救她脫離魔鬼捆綁那天的情景。從那天起，她成為耶穌忠心的跟隨者（路加福音八：2）。她親眼看祂醫治病人和教導人們神的愛。當她經歷與耶穌同在的喜樂，她的生命改變了。

後來，她的世界似乎整個瓦解了！她的主被拘捕，且被粗暴地處死。在這星期開始的時候，那些調用「和散那」的群眾，在週末時卻喊著：「釘祂十字架！」最後，更令她受不了的是，當她前去膏墳墓中耶穌的身體時，她看到墳墓居然是空的。很明顯地，有人偷了耶穌的屍體。當她沮喪地大聲哭泣時，天使一針見血地問她：「你為甚麼哭泣？」她正站在空墳墓的前面！耶穌已經復活了，誠如祂當初所應許的！知道耶穌復活，使她對整件事有全盤的認識，馬利亞喜樂地跑去分享這大好的消息。

基督徒的生活不總是輕鬆如意的，我們有與耶穌快樂同行的時刻，也有面對環境看來很不合理的時候，也許你的世界似乎快要崩潰。世人嘲弄你的主，可能使你愈來愈沒勇氣。在那些時候，你需要凝視那空墳墓。這個被拋棄的空墳墓帶給你希望，因為那空墳墓就是你的生命，是由復活主而來的記號。那空墳墓應許你，沒有一件事能夠擊敗主的目標，就算是死亡也不能夠勝過主。你是否仍在空墳墓旁哭泣呢？

Why Are You Weeping?

Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." (John 20:13)

Mary Magdalene could vividly remember the day Jesus delivered her from her demonic . She became His devoted follower that day (Luke 8:2). She watched Him heal the sick and teach people about God’s love. Her life was transformed as she experienced the joy of being with Jesus.

Then her world seemed to fall apart! Her Lord was arrested and brutally murdered. The crowds that had shouted “Hosanna!” at the beginning of the week cried “Crucify him!” by week’s end. A final blow came when she went to anoint Jesus’ body at the tomb. She saw that His tomb was empty. Someone had apparently stolen His body. As she sobbed in despair, angels asked the poignant question, “Why are you weeping?” She was standing before an empty tomb! Jesus had risen, just as He had promised! Knowing that Jesus was alive put everything back into perspective, and Mary joyfully raced to share the good news with others.

The Christian life is not always easy. There are joyful moments of walking with Jesus, but there are also times when nothing makes sense and when your world seems to be crumbling. The world will mock your Lord, and you may grow discouraged. At those times, you need to peer into the empty tomb. It is the abandoned tomb that gives you hope, for it symbolizes the life that is yours from your risen Lord. The empty tomb promises that nothing, not even death itself, can defeat the purposes of your Lord. Are you weeping beside an empty tomb?