An Imaginative Prayer Practice for Easter Sunday.

This imaginative prayer practices invites you to into the story of the women on Easter Sunday. Follow the instructions below to engage in a meaningful time of prayer.

1. Find Stillness.

Find a comfortable seat and silence the noise around you so you can be fully present here and now. Acknowledge the presence of God meeting you in the place where you are. Perhaps you take a few deep inhales and full exhales with your eyes closed to help you become fully present right here, right now.

2. Read the Passage.

Slowly read through the resurrection story in the gospels (Matthew 28:1-10, and John 20:1-18 (below), Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16). Perhaps the idea of imagining yourself as a 'fly on the wall' of this first reading:

"Very early Sunday morning, before sunrise, Mary Magdalene made her way to the tomb. And when she arrived she discovered that the stone that sealed the entrance to the tomb was moved away! So she went running as fast as she could to go tell Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. She told them, “They’ve taken the Lord’s body from the tomb, and we don’t know where he is!”

Then Peter and the other disciple jumped up and ran to the tomb to go see for themselves. They started out together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He didn’t enter the tomb, but peeked in, and saw only the linen cloths lying there. Then Peter came behind him and went right into the tomb. He too noticed the linen cloths lying there, but the burial cloth that had been on Jesus’ head had been rolled up and placed separate from the other cloths.

Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first went in, and after one look, he believed! For until then they hadn’t understood the Scriptures that prophesied that he was destined to rise from the dead. Puzzled, Peter and the other disciple then left and went back to their homes.

Mary arrived back at the tomb, broken and sobbing. She stooped to peer inside, and through her tears she saw two angels in dazzling white robes, sitting where Jesus’ body had been laid—one at the head and one at the feet! “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!”) Jesus cautioned her, “Mary, don’t cling to me, for I haven’t yet ascended to God, my Father. And he’s not only my Father and God, but now he’s your Father and your God! Now go to my brothers and tell them what I’ve told you, that I am ascending to my Father—and your Father, to my God—and your God!”

Then Mary Magdalene left to inform the disciples of her encounter with Jesus. “I have seen the Lord!” she told them. And she gave them his message.”

3. Be Present.

Read the passage again and, this time, imagine you are one of the women who went to the tomb early in the morning to discover Jesus had risen, just as he said he would...

Imagine seeing Jesus and worshipping at His feet... To have spent the time before this weeping, grieving over the loss. To have shown up probably worn out from tears— eyes red and feeling hollow. But then, He’s not there.