For Love Is Stronger than Death: Handout
About this article
This handout is an adapted reading and reflection, based on Luke 24:1-9, on Jesus' Resurrection.
Reader A: But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the disciples came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
Reader B: The disciples came to the tomb filled with sorrow, aching at the loss of their friend Jesus. Take a moment to recall your own aching and loss. [Pause.]
Reader A: But when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.
Reader B: Any one of us approaching the tomb of someone we loved might be both confused and terrified. How can we understand what happens at death, where our loved ones have gone? God's angels appeared, and some of the disciples were deeply afraid. They did not know who was speaking to them or what was to happen next. Do you ever feel fearful when life's hurts lead you into the unknown? [Pause.]
Reader A: But the men said to them: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."
Reader B: How might the disciples have felt as they considered the possibility that Jesus could be alive? [Pause.] How would your suffering be different if you believed that you and all those you love would come back from the dead one day? What could help you to believe in God's promise? [Pause.]
Reader A: Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again. Then they remembered his words.
Reader B: The disciples were helped to get in touch again with the Jesus they had followed and loved, the one who taught them how to overcome obstacles and how to find joy in life; the one who taught them to have confidence in themselves and in God. Take a moment now to call to mind one hopeful thing that you have learned in the midst of troubled times. [Pause.]
[Based on Luke 24:1-9]
Handout: Permission to reproduce this handout for program use is granted.
Acknowledgments
(This handout is taken from Death, Grief, and Christian Hope, a minicourse in the Horizons Program series, by Nancy Marrocco [Winona, MN: Saint Mary's Press, 1997], page 50. Copyright © 1997 by Saint Mary's Press. Permission is granted for this handout to be used for classroom or campus ministry purposes. This handout may not be republished in any form without written permission from Saint Mary's Press. To order this book, contact Saint Mary's Press at 800-533-8095, or order online.)
Published March 20, 2004.
