Loading...Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Maybe it’s just me, but I often think the stars of the Easter story are the women.
In every version of this resurrection story, it is the women who go to the tomb first. They shake off their grief after hours of weeping and take themselves to the tomb at the break of the third day, ready to sit at the stone, unafraid of what might happen or who may interrupt them.
Their faith, their deep sense of loss, their love for Jesus, draws them to this place to be with him for as long as their hearts need to be with him.
Fear of what may happen to them while they stay there is not important. Stay, they will. They have work to do, and do it, they will.
Maybe they did not need to fear harm from others, for they were “just women” gathering at a tomb doing women’s work. To many, this would be considered a normal event. But…if they had been the men who had followed Jesus, the results could have been much different.
The men would have been seen as demonstrators, or rabble rousers, subversives trying to continue the teaching of Jesus. Others may have seen them as threats.
It doesn’t really matter what would have happened if the men had gone to the tomb at the break of day, because, they didn’t go.
It was the women.
In Mark’s version of the story, it was Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome who came to the tomb to anoint Jesus. To spread oils and fragrant herbs and spices on his body. To touch him, one last time, before the tomb would be sealed, holding in what would eventually become the stench of death.
I usually choose to read the deeply emotional 18 verses from John on Easter Sunday. In that one, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and softly calls her name, and she replies, “Rabbouni.” Reunited, if only for a few moments. A touching, meaningful memory.
But I was drawn to Mark this year. Mark, the urgent. If you remember, everything in Mark seems to happen “immediately.” And since the Gospel of Mark is considered the first written, it tells the story succinctly, in 8 short verses. You don’t find much embellishment from Mark.
That means this version of the story leaves us wanting more. It leaves us asking questions. It abruptly leaves us hanging at the end of this Gospel with the word, “afraid.” The thought that the women left the scene, AFRAID, may not be the way we want to consider this world-changing event. We may have wanted to see Jesus.
But we did not see or hear Jesus in this version. He is missing entirely! And the women are expected to take the word of a strange young man, dressed in a white robe, who was sitting on the right side of the tomb, back to the disciples. To tell them that Jesus “is not here,” that he did what he said he would do and was raised. The women, the chosen women, are to tell the disciples to be ready to meet Jesus.
It feels a little chilly, this version, doesn’t it.
But, if you think about it, isn’t this the story of faith?
Believing in something we have not seen?
Living, always, looking for Jesus?
Seeking him in one another?
Trusting that wherever we go, Jesus is there, waiting for us?
Maybe this is the Resurrection Gospel we need to hear all the time.
Jesus is not here.
He is ahead of you, waiting for you.
Go and tell the others.
Jesus lives. He waits for you to follow him. To follow his commandments: those simple-sounding, yet utterly difficult-to-do set of commandments to love God and to love one another as we love ourselves.
The women in Mark’s Gospel were the first to hear—not see, mind you—the Good News that Jesus lives. They were the ones sent out first to tell the Good News to the disciples. To invite others to follow the risen, living Christ.
And in the days to come, Jesus makes himself known to those who had followed him. They may not recognize him right away, but as he slowly reminds them of their responsibilities to God and to one another, they live as Jesus commanded, following, teaching, guiding, loving.
The road to discipleship begins with following Jesus.
The road to love begins with the recognition that Jesus is our guide.
The road to living, begins with practicing the teaching of Jesus, continually seeking him, learning from him, and telling others that He Lives.
I have a little gift for each of you that will be distributed now. It is a small reminder that Jesus went into that tomb, but he also emerged from it, inviting us to look for him, to follow him, and love him. When you set it on your desk, your windowsill, your dashboard, or someplace special, remember that Jesus is inviting you to follow him, with faith, and thanksgiving.
Amen. Alleluia!
