Ashes to Fire – Clinging to Jesus

We went on a walk yesterday, which was the day after Easter, and along the side of the road was an empty plastic egg.  The candy it  once held was long gone and the empty egg discarded.  The celebration, the large crowds in the pew, new Easter dresses and the bright splashes of pastels quickly fade away as well.  There’s a story in the Bible that tells how Mary in all her excitement of recognizing the risen Jesus was hugging him or touching him, to the point that Jesus told her to not cling to him.  Are we clinging to Jesus?  Will we hold on to the reality that Jesus really is alive and with us?  Earlier Mary was in a frenzy because she thought someone had taken her Jesus away.  She believed his body had been stolen, and now that she had found him, she was not going to let him go.  Are we clinging to the Resurrected Jesus?  Or could it be that all that is left are the trappings, the once a year remembering, the empty shell of Easter…if we cling to anything at all? 

What are you feeling and experiencing in the days after Easter?  What did you learn or experience that you can take with you in the days and weeks after Easter?