SPRING FORTH NOW 2025

Sunday, April 27, 2025

“Dear woman, why are you crying?” they asked.

Mary answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve laid him.”  Then she turned around to leave, and there was Jesus standing in front of her, but she didn’t realize that it was him!  He said to her, “Dear woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”  Mary answered, thinking he was only the gardener, “Sir, if you have taken his body somewhere else, tell me, and I will go and . . .”  “Mary,” Jesus interrupted her.  Turning to face him, she said, “Rabboni!” (Aramaic for “My teacher!”)  . . .“Martha,” Jesus said, “You don’t have to wait until then. I am the Resurrection, and I am Life Eternal. Anyone who clings to me in faith, even though he dies, will live forever. 26And the one who lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

John 20:13-16; 11:25-26 (TPT)

In our search for hope and answers, we are often Looking In All The Wrong Places, just as Mary did when she stood weeping outside the empty tomb. Jesus was not where she expected, yet He was nearer than she realized—calling her name, offering life where she saw only death. In John 11, Jesus reminds us, "I am the resurrection and the life," assuring us that true life is never found in what has perished but in the Hidden Manna of His presence. When we quiet our hearts and lift our eyes beyond our assumptions, we encounter the Living Christ, who meets us not in our striving, but in our stillness. Today, pause and ask: where have I been looking for peace, joy, or answers outside of Him? The Hidden Manna—nourishment for your soul—is already being offered; you only need to recognize His voice calling your name.