First Witnesses

Arrival at the Tomb. He Qi

Women were looking on from far away, cared for him when he was in the country of Galile, followed him to Jerusalem.

Very early in the morning, they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.  The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples.’

The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy. They told these things to the eleven and everyone else. But their words appeared to them as nonsense. She told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him. They didn’t believe.”

Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 24, John 20

This week, three sisters of faith, all women of color, presided at our Good Friday service and communed the crowd who gathered. We prayed for the sacramental ministry of women on Easter Sunday, and erupted in applause with our response, “God hear our prayer.” The events were firsts at our neighborhood, Catholic church, signs of new life, the resurrection.

All four gospels insist that when the other disciples are fleeing, the women stand firm. The women do not run, do not betray or lie about their commitments. They are first to witness the resurrection at the tomb. Jesus appears to the women after the resurrection, first.

What if, instead of emphasizing that Jesus died alone and rejected, we reinforced who stood by him and did not leave? How would this change the emotional timbre of the day? The effect on our feelings about ourselves? The place of women in the church? The nature of redemptive love?

May you witness new life, believe it and share its good news!

Carla