Surprise!

I like surprises, the good kind of course. Being caught off guard and surprised with a gift, a visit or the unexpected, can be amazing. This week I won a raffle. I don’t think I have ever won a raffle before. I won reserved seats and a parking place for Easter morning mass. I am quite thrilled to not battle for a seat and a parking place tomorrow. Quite a gift indeed.

Have you ever been the gift giver behind the surprise? There is preparation, thought and time that goes into planning a surprise. If you’ve ever thrown a surprise party you know the amount of work, logistics and sacrifice it takes to pull this off. But the moment you yell “surprise!!” every ounce of work becomes worth it.

There is no greater surprise in the history of mankind than the resurrection of Jesus. Unexpected, unheard of, an unbelievable surprise, that was not just for a few, but for all to experience. Are we surprised?

It’s been 2000 years since the Gift Giver surprised us with the resurrection. There is more than we will ever know or understand that went into this gift. My thoughts today as I await the declaration of the empty tomb, the celebration of Easter – am I surprised? Am I awestruck by the Gift- Giver? Those who witnessed the resurrection first hand stood in awe and wonder. They were speechless, overcome and astounded. They ran to tell the others.

Will I receive the surprise in this same manner? Will I be awestruck? Goodness, I hope so. I don’t want time, knowledge, distance and routine to diminish the Gift-Giver’s surprise. I want to enter into Easter, into seeing the empty tomb, with the same astonishment as those who first witnessed the resurrection 2000 years ago.

I pray to be ever thankful, ever grateful and ever mindful of what Jesus endured for my freedom, of what the Gift-Giver sacrificed for my soul, of what the early disciples gave up so I could hear the Good News. May I greet tomorrow morning with the same kind of awe and wonder that leaves me speechless and running to tell the others.