Easter at the now-empty tomb

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From a (briefly) sunlit Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also know as Anastasis (Church of the Resurrection) -- greetings for a glorious Easter to Christians near and far!
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(You're encouraged to click once, twice, to bring down the beautiful details of the dome and chandelier.)
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Easter greetings to Orthodox friends

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 "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint his body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?' 
But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away."

Mark 16:1-4

Do you see the angel in blue, pushing back the rolling stone with just one hand?
 (You can always click and enlarge the picture . . .)

Here is the entrance to the tomb (one of the tombs in Jerusalem) seen from above.
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Wishing Orthodox Christians a blessed Pascha, joyous Easter!
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An open cave

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It being Easter on the Western Christians' calendar, I thought I would hike to my Christmas cave and see if anything had changed.
The "door" was open, blocked only by spring flowers and a tall thistle.
No rolling stone.
The cave was empty.
And silent. 

Almost hidden by the new spring growth.
I trampled down the thistle and entered into the mystery. 
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Happy Easter to all you friends out there who are celebrating today!

Pope Francis gave a wonderful homily at the Easter Vigil last night.
(Go to the link for the full text.)
Here are my favorite parts:

“To enter into the mystery” means the ability to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us (cf 1 Kings 19:12).
To enter into the mystery demands that we not be afraid of reality: that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions…
To enter into the mystery means going beyond our own comfort zone, beyond the laziness and indifference which hold us back, and going out in search of truth, beauty and love. It is seeking a deeper meaning, an answer, and not an easy one, to the questions which challenge our faith, our fidelity and our very existence.

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Saying happy Easter with flowers

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Our local Franciscan monastery chapel "lovesh chag,"  is all dressed up for the holiday.

Happy Easter to all my reader-friends who celebrate this day! 
Wishing you joy and blessings from Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Hills.
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Easter for the Orthodox

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I wasn't planning to go to the Orthodox Easter services today.
But somehow I ended up in the Old City, in the Holy Sepulchre, in the katholikon of the Greek Orthodox, in their liturgy.
Here are my favorite pictures (enlargeable with just a click).

A Muslim kawas kept order.

The Patriarch standing before the iconostasis.

The sun sent radiant beams through the dome of the Greek katholikon.

The faithful stood for hours hearing the liturgy.

After the service, people kept asking this young one to stand for a second and "pose." And he did.

Just outside the katholikon, at the tomb of Jesus, Israeli police and Border Guards kept order in
the line of hundreds of pilgrims waiting to enter the tiny chapel.

I especially enjoyed the Magavnik (Border Police) with a kipah under his beret keeping watch over the Holy Sepulchre chapel.
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The Eastern Bunny Trail

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The Easter Bunny (Swiss style) made an eastward detour and arrived in my remote little village in the Jerusalem Hills!

Wishing all you Christians a happy and sweet Easter Sunday.
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Celebrating newness of life

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Peace and Easter joy to my Christian friends out there!
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A painting by a local artist friend.

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For pictures of glorious light, opened tombs, and the Holy Sepulchre, you are welcome to click on my label "Easter."
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The Psalm-bloggers are contributing Easter posts today to Robert at Daily Athens. You are invited to link yours too.
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May you all enjoy your holy day as we Jews prepare for tonight and tomorrow, the holiday of Shevi'i shel Pesach, the 7th and final day of Passover.
Chag sameach!
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Light enters the Holy Sepulchre

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A beam of sunlight from the Anastasis

strikes the tomb of Jesus.

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HAPPY EASTER!

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"He is not here"

"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint his body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?' But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away."

Mark 16:1-4

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Entering into the mystery

Entering into the mystery as night falls.

For those who contemplate the darkness and the tomb, who wait for light or an opening, this Easter Vigil night is for you.

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He is not here

The view from above of the rolling stone door of an ancient tomb.
A friend emerges from the entrance of the rock-hewn tomb. It is unmarked and easy to miss, below a little hill in a public park in Jerusalem's New City.
"And very early on the first day of the week the women went to the tomb . . . And they were saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?' And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large." . . .
And sitting on the stone was an angel who said, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

E tenebris lux

From darkness, LIGHT .

Alpha and omega

A joyous Easter to Christians everywhere !

Entering into the mysteries

The full moon rises. The Easter Vigil begins in darkness.