John, in his Gospel, loves the motifs of light and dark. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. When Judas slipped out of the last supper to betray Jesus, it was night.
John's account of the empty tomb records Mary Magdalene going to the tomb "while it was still dark".
This worries a few people, but it need not.
The worry is that Mark records 3 women going to the tomb "just after sunrise". He seems to want to highlight the fact that it was day time, so they could see where they were going and what they were witnessing.
The reason it need not is that each of the 4 gospels is telling the same story, but from different perspectives. All 4 accounts of the empty tomb are true - they just record different details, and from a different angle (much as different national newspapers would report the same football match differently). Maybe Mary went on her own before dawn, then went back with the other 2 after sunrise. Or maybe it was dark when she left the house, but the sun had risen by the time she got there. I don't know. The point is that there is enough in what we aren't told, therefore the things we are told need not trouble us.
So, back to John's gospel. When Mary went to the tomb, it was still dark. It wouldn't stay that way for long, as Jesus was risen and was about to begin appearing to his disciples.
But then we go to the end of John's gospel. The Last Supper took place when "it was night". But John ends with the account of another meal. It was the only meal of the day that would be appropriate at this point: It was breakfast.
The movement from the crucifixion to the resurrection is the movement from supper to breakfast. The movement from "it's about to get very dark, and become night", to "a new day has dawned, and it's about to become very light indeed".
"Come and have breakfast".
Happy Easter!
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