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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: MOURNING / MORNING (02/02/23)
“This is the worst day of my life,” hiccuped Mary Magdalene. “I can’t believe they killed Jesus. Nailed him to a cross. I never saw such hate. Why?” She continued to sob.

Mary wept as they took his body from the cross. Wept as Joseph took his body to the burial site.

Mary cried all the way home as she went to prepare spices to anoint Jesus body with. How she mourned the loss of her friend. “Will my mourning ever turn to joy,” she whispered.

The Passover had come, therefore Mary could do nothing about Jesus body until Sunday morning. While she waited she reminisced on all the things Jesus had done for her. How he forgave her. Cleansed her. Gave her new life. Walked with her.

How she missed this special Someone in her life.

Spending a restless night, tossing and turning, morning finally came. It was early, the sun not quite up yet, when she went to the tomb. She intended to anoint his body and pondered how she would remove the stone, but as she drew closer she saw that the stone had been rolled away.

Covering her mouth with her hand she whispered, “Oh no. What have they done?”

Not bothering to enter the tomb, she dropped her spices and ran to Peter and John.

Crying hysterically she said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

Not only was she mourning Jesus death, but now his body was missing also.

The disciples ran to the tomb to see if what Mary had told them was true. John outran Peter and entered the tomb. What he saw took his breath away. The linen cloths that Jesus had been wrapped in were lying empty. The face cloth was folded neatly and set aside.

“What is going on?” A perplexed Peter asked. “Where did Jesus go? Did someone take him?”

Both disciples did not yet understand when Jesus said he would rise from the dead. Hanging their heads in despair, tears running down their cheeks, they returned home.

Their beloved Savior was missing.

Mary had joined the men, and as they left for home, Mary continued standing outside the tomb weeping. After a moment she looked inside the tomb. To her astonishment she saw two angles in white sitting where the body had been. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

“They have taken away my Lord and I don’t know where he is,” she cried.

She fell to the ground, covered her face with her hands and wept uncontrollably. She had no idea this morning would bring such mourning to her soul. She didn’t think she had any more tears to cry, and yet they continued to flow.

Feeling empty, her soul depleted, she stood and turned to go. As she did so, she saw someone standing before her. This “someone” spoke and said, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

Mary thought he was simply the Gardner and said to him, “Sir if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

Then she heard the sweetest words one could ever say to her. She heard her name, 
“Mary.” It was the way this person said her name. She knew in her heart it was her beloved Jesus.

Turning to him she whispered in Aramaic “Rabboni!” (Which means Teacher).

“Yes, Mary, it is I. I have a message for you to take back to my beloved disciples. Will you do this for me?”

“Yes, Teacher. I will be your servant.”

Tell them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

With a heart filled with joy and gladness she ran to the disciples and shouted, “I have seen the Lord. He gave me a message for you. This is what he has said.”

Once she delivered the message Jesus asked her to give, she went home. Her walk home brought more tears, but these were not tears of mourning but tears of joy. Her Savior was alive! He spoke to her! She would see him again!

A morning that began with gloom and despair ended with shouts of “hallelujah” and songs of praise.

Jesus is Alive!

Mary had the joy of being the first person Jesus spoke to after his resurrection, and the first missionary Jesus entrusted with a message of hope.


Scripture story taken from John 20:1-18, ESV
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This article has been read 241 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Barbara Culler 
02/10/23
You brought this well-known story to life!
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
02/16/23
I enjoyed this retelling. You brought Mary to life, and I felt like I really understood her. You're doing a nice job of showing without telling, but you can go even farther. When you use tag lines, stick to traditional ones like said, asked, whispered. It's hard to hiccup while speaking. It's great to show the body language to show who is speaking, but don't use it as a tag line. Instead try this:"This is the worst day." Mary hiccuped and rubbed her face. They are both complete sentences. Remember to use an apostrophe to show possession like Jesus' body. And lastly, don't overuse exclamation points. Save them for dialog but in a story this size you should only have one or two. Instead let your words do your exclaiming. You did a great job of showing both topic words. Without a doubt, mourning was the central theme and it's done nicely. You also have a clear Christian message. You do a nice job transitioning into the next idea. Your beginning and ending were both done nicely too.
C D Swanson 
02/16/23
Beautiful!
God BLess~