This Sunday was Easter Sunday. I was in the singing group so wound up sat at the front, all keen-like.
And the scripture was, unsurprisingly, John's account of the resurrection. And we were asked to consider why Mary was crying. She cried for the death of her friend (who is a saviour if not a friend of sinners). She cried because his body was not there. In that, I think perhaps she cried for herself. She had been deprived of the touchstone for her grief. If we deal with death by dealing with our dead (which I hope we do) then not having a body to grieve over hampers our grieving. Like the families of soldiers blown to smithereens in the trenches, where there wasn't enough to identify or bury. Like the friends of teenagers who disappeared and were never heard of again. Like the relatives of the victims of the recent air crash and ferry capsizing.
It is good to notice when experiences or people we can relate to show up in the Bible. And I like to think that we are all included in there without too many stretches of the imagination. Of course, I also like to stretch my imagination.
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