Easter Day.  April 20, 2025

Luke 24:1-12

Revd. Neli Miranda

 

Today’s Gospel narrative opens with a group of women, disciples of Jesus, going to   the tomb… It is the first day of the week, and in the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion, the first community of disciples is experiencing profound grief. As noted in the preceding chapter, after Jesus’ death all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance observing these events. Luke also recounts that a righteous man named Joseph, from the town of Arimathea, approached Pilate and requested Jesus’ body. Joseph was a member of the council that had dissented from its plan and action to execute Jesus. Joseph took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb hewn in the rock, where no one had ever been laid. Luke notes that the women who were Jesus’ disciples followed Joseph and observed the tomb where Jesus’ body was placed. As the Sabbath was about to begin, they were unable to prepare his body for burial; so, they returned home, prepared spices and ointments and then rested on the Sabbath to await the first day of the week. 

How do we move forward when someone we love is gone? How can the disciples face what is coming after Jesus’ execution? They are devastated, saddened, frightened and feeling hopeless, surely thinking of fleeing the place that had caused them so much pain. Yet, the women find a way to confront their grief through service. At early dawn the women – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women – go to the tomb taking the spices they had prepared in an act of devotion to Jesus. All indications suggest they come seeking a corpse, looking for a dead; however, instead of a corpse, they find an empty tomb. While the women are feeling perplexed, two messengers from God appear beside them and pose the most stunning question in the world, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” And they announce, “He is not here but he has risen.” (24,5).

 The messengers’ profound question awakens the women’s memory, calling them to remind Jesus’ teachings in Galilee: “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again” (24,6-7). Jesus, in fact, foretold his death and resurrection three times in the Gospel of Luke; yet, his disciples failed to comprehend the significance of his path of service and self-giving. Now, however, it all makes sense, and the women remember his words. The good news of the risen Jesus resonates most deeply with those who comprehend and embrace his path of selfless service!

Luke does not relate an encounter between the women and the risen Jesus, but their memory of Jesus’ words has redirected them. Returning from the tomb, they announced the good news to the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples and to all the others. However, they did not believe the women’s testimony, considering it an “idle tale.” Luke tells us that only Peter runs to the tomb, and looking inside, sees only the linen cloths. He returns home amazed at what had occurred, but unlike the women, his encounter with the empty tomb does not lead to proclamation of the good news. Thus, while the women are empowered by their remembrance of Jesus’ words, the others remained resistant and unable to comprehend Jesus’ path and accept the women’s good news.

Are we open to hearing good news, profound truths from unexpected voices?"

In a remarkable challenge to the cultural norms of the time, all the Gospel accounts agree that the first witnesses to the empty tomb were women, even though women in Jewish culture were not considered reliable witnesses. The renowned theologian Jürgen Moltmann underscores this point, “If women were to remain silent, we would have no testimony of Jesus’ resurrection.” 

Brothers and sisters, how does this Easter morning find us? Do we come with heavy hearts, burdened by distress, illness, or despair? Or do we feel renewed, filled with a burning desire to encounter the risen Jesus along our journey? Today, as we celebrate, we are invited, like the women at the tomb, to reflect on our journey with Jesus over the past months: his teachings, his commitment to justice, his path of service, and above all, his constant proclamation of resurrection, of Life!  Thus, we understand the meaning of the empty tomb as a profound sign of life and hope. Like the women on that first Easter morning, let us listen to the message: “Do not look for the living among the dead!” Alleluia, Christ is risen!