Saturday night was another sleepless night of grief, shock and confusion for the followers of Jesus.

Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John zooms in on the experience of Mary Magdalene. She was one of those the scripture tells us had been there at the base of Jesus’ cross and had watched him die. What an unimaginable trauma that must have been.

After trying to find some rest Saturday night, Mary apparently could stand it no longer. She got up in the dark hours of the early morning and headed to the graveyard.

Another Gospel mentions that the women had taken spices to the tomb in hopes of getting access to the body to complete the proper burial preparation.

But there was a problem.

A huge stone covered the entrance to Jesus’ tomb. It had been sealed and was guarded by Roman soldiers, so I’m not sure what Mary thought she was going to accomplish. I doubt she really had much of an idea of what she was going to accomplish.

If you have ever grieved, you can understand.

Whatever else she was thinking, I imagine she simply wanted to be close to where Jesus had been buried. She just wanted to be there. Jesus had changed her life after all.

When Mary got to the cemetery, she saw the open and empty tomb. She didn’t realize this was good news.

Instead, it was just another devastating shock. Can you imagine going to the tomb to grieve and finding that it had been opened up and Jesus was gone? She clearly had no expectation for Jesus to rise from the dead.

So she ran — I don’t know how old of a person we are talking about — but she ran through the dark to find Simon Peter and John. Then the two disciples ran to the tomb to see for themselves.

Peter and John looked around and left. But Mary stayed. I’m struck by this for some reason. She was grieving. She didn’t understand.

She was disappointed, confused, hurt — but she just kept showing up.

Eventually, things changed. As she was weeping, she leaned into the tomb again.

I’m not sure what she was looking for, but she saw two angels sitting where Jesus had been.

Mary’s persistent love paid off. She became the first to receive the news of the resurrection. She turned around to discover Jesus standing right there with her — alive!

Through her shock, tears, and perhaps dim light, she didn’t realize it was him until he spoke her name, “Mary.”

In that instant, her world changed.

In fact, the whole world had changed. Easter was world-changing, but it is also life-changing and very personal. To encounter the living Christ brings hope for eternity because death was conquered forever. It also brings empowerment to join the living Lord in his ongoing work of bringing the world more into line with God’s intended and good purposes.

The resurrection of Jesus blew up the disciples’ old categories of understanding, as well as their fears. Because of Easter, they boldly launched into the world as messengers of a new and radical hope.

They lived a bold new and sacrificial way of life creating a community modeled after Jesus.

Easter reminds us that even when things seem the most bleak, God is still alive and well. He is still very much at work. Mary’s story also reminds us that God knows us and relates to us on a very personal level. He knows you by name — even in the darkest times.

In times of doubt and confusion, He is there. When He is there, there is hope.

Jeff Fugitt is the pastor of Cassville United Methodist Church, located at 601 Gravel Street in Cassville. He may be reached at 417-847-2328 or cassvilleumcpastor@gmail.com.