"Him, who rose to live in thee"

This is a picture I took back in August when I was walking around the Iona nunnery ruins. At first, I thought of it as a good image for the raising of Lazarus, but as I looked at it again on Easter Sunday, it struck me that it can be a depiction of the empty tomb that first Easter morning.  It looks like God blew the hinges off the "door," metaphorically speaking, pouring intense light and new life into what had been a dark and forbidding place of death and decay.  That turning point of history, that central tenet of the Christian faith, was witnessed by no one except the One to whom resurrection happened, and we can only marvel and wonder at the power of a God who is Lord of life and of death.

Although nobody witnessed this unprecedented act of God, from Mary Magdalene on down, Christians have tried to express this great truth in word and song. Most of us are familiar with Charles Wesley's beloved "Hymn for our Lord's Resurrection," which we know as "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" and can hardly imagine Easter without singing it at top volume.  The soaring tune "Lyra Davidica" paired with those matchless lyrics have set a standard for poetic declaration of the Easter faith that is matched by none.  It is not, however, the onlyEaster hymn the prolific poet penned, however. Less familiar are many others he wrote on the same subject, but as I poked around, I found one of these relatively unknown hymns that starts off by praising the faithful witness of Mary Magdalene.  

Here are some of the verses much as they would have appeared in the earliest Methodist hymnals.  Despite my commitment to inclusive language, I have not here altered the language to make it gender-inclusive because I wanted it to more closely reflect Charles Wesley's original words.  (Of course, John felt free to edit his brother any time he chose, and it is likely that some of this reflects  markings from his pen!)  Notice that it opens with him addressing Mary Magdalene directly and then shifts to a more personal tone, almost as if he is standing in her place before the Risen Lord, and then concludes with a plea for the reader/listener to take hold of the salvation available to all.  

As you read these words, may your heart be set afire and filled with Easter joy as you celebrate the One who died and rose for all, the Risen Christ who rose to live in you and in me!

Happy Magdalene, to whom
Christ the Lord vouchsafed t’ appear!
Newly risen from the tomb,
Would he first be seen by her?
Her by seven devils possessed,
Till his word the fiends expelled;
Quenched the hell within her breast,
All her sins and sickness healed.

Highly favoured soul! To her
Farther still his grace extends,
Raises the glad messenger,
Sends her to his drooping friends:
Tidings of their living Lord
First in her report they find:
She must spread the gospel-word,
Teach the teachers of mankind.

Who can now presume to fear?
Who despair his Lord to see?
Jesus, wilt thou not appear,
Show thyself alive to me?
Yes, my God, I dare not doubt,
Thou shalt all my sins remove;
Thou hast cast a legion out,
Thou wilt perfect me in love.

Surely thou hast called me now!
Now I hear the voice divine,
At thy wounded feet I bow,
Wounded for whose sins but mine!
I have nailed him to the tree,
I have sent him to the grave:
But the Lord is ris’n for me,
Hold of him by faith I have.

Here forever would I lie,
Didst thou not thy servant raise,
Send me forth to testify
All the wonders of thy grace.
Lo! I at thy bidding go,
Gladly to thy followers tell
They their rising God may know,
They the life of Christ may feel.

Hear, ye brethren of the Lord,
(Such he you vouchsafes to call)
O believe the gospel-word,
Christ hath died, and rose for all:
Turn ye from your sins to God,
Haste to Galilee, and see
Him, who bought thee with his blood,
Him, who rose to live in thee. ~ Charles Wesley