TAKING A GUESS

Jesus, teach me to have fun guessing, but understand I'm not always right! Amen.

When Mary Magdalene got to the cave where Jesus' body had been, she saw that the huge stone that had blocked the entrance was rolled away. Mary ran and told Peter and the other disciples, "They've taken Jesus away!" The disciples ran back to the cave and saw that Jesus wasn't there -- He had risen from the dead!

Kids spend a lot of time guessing. Often, adults make plans without telling you what's going on: Your teacher knows what you'll be learning in class every day, but you don't; your parents decide where you'll live, go to school and go on vacation, usually without asking you! All you can do is guess at what's going to happen.

Grownups play the guessing game, too. In this week's Gospel (John 20:1-9), Mary Magdalene and the rest of Jesus' friends are trying to figure out what could have happened to Jesus!

Most of the guessing kids do is because you're either excited or worried about something. You want to know where you're going on vacation because it's fun; you guess at what you'll be doing in school because you're hoping it isn't hard or boring.

In the Gospel story, Mary is probably worried and excited at the same time. Jesus has died, and although He did promise He would come back to life, no one is sure whether that will really happen. When Mary can't find Jesus' body, she doesn't know if He was moved somewhere or He really did rise from the dead.

Sometimes, all your guessing doesn't really help: You have to wait and see to know what's going to happen. You probably guess wrong as often as you're right.

For Jesus' followers, that was definitely true: Mary's first guess was that Jesus' body was taken to another place. We know, though, that Jesus really did come back to life -- something we'll be celebrating this weekend at Easter!

(03/20/08)