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經文：「有抹大拉的馬利亞，和那個馬利亞在那裡，對著墳墓坐著。」（太27:61）。 盲目的悲哀，其實是一種愚昧；當人停在這種情緒時，除了不思考也不理解，更是不想思考也不願理解。就像當初兩位馬利亞坐在主耶穌的墓門前傷心哀悼時，心中只知道：「我們的主不見了。」，怎麼能想像基督自此勝過死亡的光榮得勝？ 基督在她們的失望中歸來了；無數哀慟的心靈，在她們的悲悼中復活。然而憂悶哀傷守在墓旁的人，卻沒有看見眼前已擺著未來成就的端倪。而她們所以爲的生命終點，其實正是加冕大典的籌備過程；基督之所以靜默安息，是爲了復甦後所擁有更大的能力。 她們並不知道這些；只有哀悼、哭泣、離去，然後受到內心的驅使又回到墓地。但是看見的還是那座沒有預兆、聲音、光彩的墳墓。 我們也是如此，坐在自己的園子裏對著墳墓說：「這樣的失去已無可挽回，一切再也沒有意義，從此也不能再得任何安慰。」然而往往就在我們最失喪的時候，基督正在預備祂的復活。 我們認爲死亡的地方，有我們的救主在那裏。希望看來似乎是終了，卻是豐富收穫的開始。黑暗最濃最重的時刻，卻是光明將要湧現時。當全過程的轉變就緒，將發現墳墓並未減少花園的美。 含有悲哀的歡樂，勝於一般的歡樂。當人的悲哀被神的樂園所圍繞，就變為光明。關於仁愛、篤信、盼望、喜樂、平安；這些心靈之花，常人不懂得欣賞，也不會想要收藏，卻栽種在每一位基督徒心園深處的墳墓周圍。 新譯｜荒漠甘泉讀書會
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Scripture: "And there was Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre" How strangely stupid is grief. It neither learns nor knows nor wishes to learn or know. When the sorrowing sisters sat over against the door of God's sepulchre, did they see the two thousand years that have passed triumphing away? Did they see any thing but this: "Our Christ is gone!" Your Christ and my Christ came from their loss; Myriad mourning hearts have had resurrection in the midst of their grief; and yet the sorrowing watchers looked at the seed-form of this result, and saw nothing. What they regarded as the end of life was the very preparation for coronation; for Christ was silent that He might live again in tenfold power. They saw it not. They mourned, they wept, and went away, and came again, driven by their hearts to the sepulchre. Still it was a sepulchre, unprophetic, voiceless, lusterless. So with us. Every man sits over against the sepulchre in his garden, in the first instance, and says, "This woe is irremediable. I see no benefit in it. I will take no comfort in it." And yet, right in our deepest and worst mishaps, often, our Christ is lying, waiting for resurrection. Where our death seems to be, there our Saviour is. Where the end of hope is, there is the brightest beginning of fruition. Where the darkness is thickest, there the bright beaming light that never is set is about to emerge. When the whole experience is consummated, then we find that a garden is not disfigured by a sepulchre. Our joys are made better if there be sorrow in the midst of them. And our sorrows are made bright by the joys that God has planted around about them. The flowers may not be pleasing to us, they may not be such as we are fond of plucking, but they are heart-flowers, love, hope, faith, joy, peace--these are flowers which are planted around about every grave that is sunk in the Christian heart. ｜ Mrs. Charles Cowman
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