But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (Matthew 28:5)
Last week I discovered that I had made a big mistake. For a Christmas ‘gift’ last year, I finally moved a HUGE hollowed concrete block and dug it a few feet down into the ground, making a planter out of the remains of an old construction project. But I had holes for draining drilled in the wrong part, in the wrong way, at the wrong angle. So it wouldn’t work as a planter after all.
I can hear some of you excusing me. “Your intentions were right,” you might say. “You meant well,” we smile. “You TRIED…” I hear.
But we know that those kindly statements don’t hold water (pun intended.) My good intentions do not make the planter usable. Intentions don’t matter as much as actions.
But while this might be true regarding concrete planters, the angel speaking to the women outside of Jesus’ empty tomb comfort them with one “good intention.”
Those women had plenty of reasons to be afraid. They had lost Jesus. The Jewish leaders were winning the fight. The lives Mary and Mary had given up to follow Him were probably irretrievable. And all of that was BEFORE they felt the earthquake, saw heavenly light blaze, and saw an actual ANGEL.
But that angel put things in perspective for them. He tells Mary and Mary that because they seek Jesus, they have no reason to fear.
That articulate angel is preaching a profound sermon right there.
He took the physical act of Mary and Mary arriving at the tomb and turned it into an amazing truth. They physically sought Him because they were already living their lives seeking Him.
They had believed in Him. They had followed Him. They had publicly professed their Faith. They desired to hear every Word He said. They desired to know what He taught. They both literally and figuratively followed Him.
They were Christians.
And because of THAT, Mary and Mary had nothing to fear.
Seeking Jesus is the solution to every trouble and problem and issue and fear that we have. Seeking Jesus means always wonderingly wondering what He is up to, even in our pain. Seeking Jesus means knowing that He DOES reign, even when we can’t see how. Seeking Jesus means trusting that He is the weaver behind the tapestry of our lives. Seeking Jesus means believing Him.
And the result of seeking Jesus means we lose sight of those things we fear. The result of seeking Jesus means that even when those things we fear are as frightening as angels, we can wait through them. The result of Seeking Jesus means that we’re too busy to be afraid.
When we intend to seek Jesus, THAT intention matters.
Fear not, because you seek Jesus.