Asking, Alarmed, and Afraid...

Mark 16:1-8 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ 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. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. 
In one short paragraph, Mark (speaking from Peter's perspective) reveals the fast array of thoughts and emotions these women went through on Resurrection Day.  At first they were asking, wondering, how they could get into the tomb.  They had not even thought through what they would find there (or NOT find there.)  Their thoughts and feelings quickly change as they enter the open tomb. They are alarmed - caught unprepared - not knowing what to do or say.  The words of the messenger impact them in such a way that a whole new set of thoughts and emotions run rampant.  Totally shaken, their reaction is to run away.  What they had seen and heard was too much to handle!
Sad to say, we often make our way through this week emotionless and thoughtless.  We accept the facts and move on, without asking any questions, without any rush of alarm, without any reverential fear of the holiness of it all.  May we pause and peek into the tomb, and be speechless for awhile.