The body of Jesus, after his death, was placed in the rock tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. The women went to the tomb immediately after the Sabbath, taking the prepared perfumes with them to anoint and embalm the body of their Master. Arriving at the tomb, their first shock was when the stone was out of place, when, despite its size, it was rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. But they could be even more shocked when they didn’t find the body of their beloved Jesus in the tomb. They expected him to be there and he wasn’t. Instead, as we read in the Gospel of Mark, a young man dressed in a white robe was found. No wonder, then, that these women, who may have been full of fear and worry about what happened anyway, are now frightened. But the young man in the white dress tells them:

"Do not be afraid! Are you looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified? He is risen, he is not here.” (Mark 16: 6) He is not here, says the messenger of God. Jesus is not here, he is not in the grave, he is not in the place where he is sought, in the form, dead, as they would expect.

Reading the story, it is clear that these women were looking for Jesus in the wrong place. They loved Him very much that is why they went to the tomb because and looked for him after his death, but they were looking for him in the wrong place. They knew their Master, heard many of his teachings, parables about the kingdom of God, could see his wonders, his dominion over nature, and even death, but now they were still searching in the wrong place. Jesus spoke several times about his suffering and death, and repeatedly said that He would be resurrected, but now it was somehow forgotten, and they sought the living, the risen Jesus, among the dead. But they only got the answer: He is not here.

Where is Jesus then? Where should we look for Him? Where can He be found? If he is not in the grave, where is he? Maybe in our hearts, in our homes, in our families? If they came to us and sought Jesus, what would we say? That yes, Jesus is there, we call Him “to be our guest before every meal,” we give him thanks every night; or rather should we say: he is not here.

Many people think that Jesus is only present in the church. Jesus, with his encounters after his resurrection, exemplifies that he wants to be there in our lives, in our daily lives, in our rush, in our rest, our finances, our parenting, our relationships.

The Gospels show how the risen Lord appears in so many situations. He heads with the disciples going to Emmaus and teaches them, appears to the disciples sitting behind closed doors, or to the women who seek Him just at the dawn of Easter; advises the disciples who go fishing and sits down with them to eat. The resurrected Lord appears and is present in the daily lives of the disciples.

He is not here, says the angel referring to the grave, he is not in the stone, in the depths of the earth, but he is there, he wants to be there in life, in everyday life.

The story of Easter raises the question of where Jesus is for us, where we want to see Him, where we want to know Him. We only have a Good Friday Jesus who, until his death, did many miracles, taught, healed, but died; or do we have Easter Jesus, the living Christ, who is still alive, present, speaking to us, leading, teaching and is there in our daily lives?

For the women seeking the tomb, Christ was risen. Matthew records that these women ran with fear and great joy to bring the news to the disciples. Not only were they scared, they were happy and ran to take the news. The news of Easter must be passed on, it must be told, it must not be kept to themselves. And since then, they have passed on and let us pass on the news of Jesus: resurrected, he is not here. Jesus Christ is not in the grave; He is not dead but alive. Today as well.