Easter Sunday this year falls on March 27. It's the day on which Christians celebrate Christ's rising from the dead. It is usually a joyful celebration and Christians make a special effort to be in church on that day. Often churches have sunrise services, reflecting the visit of the women to Jesus' tomb "very early in the morning, while it was still dark" (John 20:1).
There are slightly different accounts in the four Gospels of the Resurrection. None of them, however, describe it; they speak of the discovery of the empty tomb and of encounters with the risen Lord, but the Resurrection itself, which was not witnessed by anyone, is beyond the writers' powers of description.
John's Gospel contains some of the most memorable images, including the stories of Peter and John going into the tomb and finding the grave clothes, and Mary mistaking Jesus for the gardener.
In some ways, Mark's account is the most interesting. His Gospel originally finished at 16:8 and scholars are sure the rest of the chapter is a later addition. This means its last words are: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid." There's a sense in these words that the future is open and that life with the risen Lord will be a continuing adventure.
