After the Passion: the empty tomb is not the end of the story

The Gospel is story. And the Author of life uses story to show us who we are, what is going on, and why it matters. After Jesus rose from the dead He very intentionally wove the individual stories of His disciples with His own story. For forty days, Jesus took them back through what had happened during their time together. He reminded them of what He'd said, revisited the key places and events, removed crippling doubts, repaired broken relationships, and gave them a new purpose for living.Every morning for the 50 days from Easter to Pentecost, I invite you to spend a few minutes with me in the resurrection narrative. We'll listen around the edges of what is actually written and step into the story. One of my favorite ways to do that is called "lectio divina"* a suspicious sounding Latin phrase, fraught with danger, full of promise, and spiritually invigorating. Our journey begins at not one, but two empty tombs. We will quickly backtrack to the three days between Jesus' death and resurrection for a grueling week, as we listen to Jesus' enemies plot and scheme in their unbelief, and face our own susceptibility to those same fatal flaws. Then we will linger for almost three weeks on the events and encounters of that first resurrection day. We will spend another week with Peter unpacking his fateful fishing trip at the Sea of Tiberias. Finally, we will climb the mountain in Galilee to hear Jesus commission His followers, traveling back to Bethany for a final goodbye with Jesus, and return to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. *"Lectio divina" is explained at the end of the book.