You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen!

White Angel at Tomb (believed to be Archangel Gabriel) - 13th century, Fresco. Mileseva Monastery, Serbia

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

- Mark 16:1-8

On Friday, we were given two readings from John's Gospel:   Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down My life for Your sake."  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."   * * *  After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission.  So he came and took the body of Jesus.  And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.  Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.   (John 13:36-38, John 19:38-42)

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  My study bible says that because Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  Therefore, these faithful women went as soon as they could to the tomb, in order to complete the rites of burial.  Mary the mother of James has been widely considered throughout tradition to be a reference to the Virgin Mary, as she is stepmother to James called "the Lord's brother" (Matthew 13:55, compare also to Mark 15:40, 47).  Some teach that this Mary is the wife of Alphaeus, and thus this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).   Many teach that Salome was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John.

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him."  My study bible comments that the stone had been rolled away not in order to accommodate Christ's exit from the tomb -- for in His resurrected body, He needs no such accommodation (see John 20:19).   Instead, this stone was rolled away in order to allow the witnesses -- and we who hear via the Gospel -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.

"But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  My study bible comments that the specific mention of Peter reveals a special care for the one who had denied Christ.  Theophylact comments that Peter himself would have considered himself unworthy to continue as disciple.  The angel's command is a promise that Peter is forgiven. 

So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.   That they said nothing to anyone, my study bible says, doesn't mean the women never said anything.  Rather, it means that they kept silent until Jesus' appearance to them (see verses 9-11 which follow).

For much of the Orthodox Church, this is now Holy Week, and the "Empty Tomb" figures prominently in many of the services for this week.  Throughout Holy Week (regardless of whether or not Easter is celebrated on the same day as the West, such as in the Armenian Apostolic Church), Orthodox tradition has what are called "Bridegroom" services.  That is, it is in preparation for Easter that we are meant to contemplate this empty tomb, as we await our Bridegroom who is Christ.  Like the Ten Virgins in the parable found in Matthew (Matthew 25:1-13), we all, as faithful Christians, continue to await our Bridegroom.  We can consider our state as like the women at this empty tomb, in which the angel announces to them that "He is risen!  He is not here."   We know that He is risen.  And we await our Bridegroom, and His return to us.   In a sense, we are all in this place where we miss Him and we await Him, and we hear the good news of the Archangel that He is risen!   In our sometimes lonely and empty-seeming world, we have our hope.  He is risen!  We live in this state of paradox as faithful believers, knowing at once that He is risen, and yet how we long for Him to be always present, in as much fullness as possible.  We are not the early disciples who lived with Him, who ate and slept with Him, who kept Him company, and were taught by Jesus in the flesh.  But nevertheless our longing and our faith also keep us close to Him.  We know Him through our prayers, and through mystical understandings that we can't quite consciously perceive.  He draws us forth in the heart, with longing in our souls.  Recently I read a quotation by C. S. Lewis, from his book, The Problem of Pain.  Lewis writes, "But God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it—made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand."  Yes, we long for Him because our Creator is our first love.  Like the disciples, we know this love, only we don't quite know how we know it.  I have seen people of avowedly no faith, or of faiths other than Christianity, turn to Christ in sure certainty that He is the One who loves and understands -- that He is the One in whom they can trust.  How do we know this?  It is that longing in the empty tomb that gives us a hint, that we know He was here for us, and that He will return.  We know what He did for us, that He died for us.  We are sure of His love, and even of His forgiveness, for He is the One who is true, who sought not His own glory but the glory of the One by whom He was sent:  "He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him" (John 7:18).  If there is One upon whom we can count, it is Christ in whom there is no unrighteousness.  When we feel abandoned and alone, when the world doesn't offer much in the way of real comfort, when we seem to be in that empty tomb, there is this One to whom we turn, whom we know is true and righteous, even when all else fails.  Somehow like these women who seek Him, we know that about Him, too.  Our souls know.  Our spirits call for the water He offers, because we need those waters of life to revive us again when we're weary.  We know He is life somehow, although we are in an empty tomb and we long for what we feel we have lost.  Let us consider today our places with these women, and hear this news:  He is risen!  For He is risen for all of us -- yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  We have but begun to contemplate what that really means for us, and for all those who long for the One in whom they can put their trust, the One who is righteous and true.