Allelujah means "Praise the Lord." We sing it in so many ways on Resurrection Day. Yet, the day is still filled with fear. In Matthew's account, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. As they approached, there was a violent earthquake and an angel appeared before them. He rolled back the stone and sat on it. This was such a frightening sight that the soldiers that had been placed at the tomb to guard it ran away. The women were also afraid. The angel assured them that all was well. "Do not be afraid. Go, tell the disciples that Jesus has been raised and that He will meet them in Galilee. As they ran from the tomb, Jesus suddenly met them in the path. "Greetings," He said. Can you imagine how perfectly wonderful that greeting would sound to your ears, while also sounding perfectly frightening. The women had never experienced such an amazing thing. Even the raising of Lazarus was nothing compared to what they were seeing in their path. The only one who could have raised Jesus from the dead was dead Himself! And yet, here He was, standing before them. Was He really alive? Was it a ghost? Was it someone diguised as Jesus to fool the women into taking them to the hiding place of the disciples? I imagine all these things ran through their head.
However, they recognized Him, clasped His feet and worshipped Him. Jesus knew they were still afraid. In their joy they still did not fully understand what was happening. He reached out and touched them to the very depths of their emotions. "Do not be afraid." He repeated the command and the promise, "Go tell the disciples. I will meet them in Galilee."
When we are afraid, Jesus reaches out to us, also, in our joy and in our fear. He reminds us that He is with us. He reminds us of His command. And He reminds us of His promise.
We have so much to fear in this world. As Christians, we also fear the response of non-Christians to the message we have to bring, even though it is a message of forgiveness and grace. We are afraid to share that message. Jesus meets us on the road. Greets us warmly. Reveals Himself to us. He reminds us not to be afraid and He tells us to Go! He is faithful. And in His faithfulness we can go forth in faith without fear to share the Good News.
ALLELUJAH!
