|
|
|
Christ
is risen from the dead, by death he hath overcome death, and to them in
the graves hath he given life.
After
our rather long break over Lent and Easter, I would like to welcome you
all back to our weekly talks which sadly will only be for the month of May
because then we break again for the summer holidays and start again with
the new season in October. I hope you all had a great Spiritual and
enlightening Pascha. After fifty days of fasting I’m sure many of you felt
your bodily strength fading, but now after the Paschal feasts and all the
meats and other rich foods we have all been eating, I’m sure everyone’s
strength have returned. But Pascha should have given us not only bodily
sustenance, but also an increased and renewed spiritual strength with a
thirst for more spiritual understanding so that we can continue living the
joy of the Resurrection, not only once a year, but everyday of our life.
But to do this we must still continue our spiritual struggles. Just
because Lent is over it doesn’t mean that we can now become lax in our
efforts. Yes, we sing that Christ is risen from the dead, and by death he
hath overcome death and that He has overcome the power of the devil, but
this doesn’t mean that the devil and his demons no longer exist. Christ’s
victory lies in the fact that he has reopened the gates of Paradise which,
had since the fall of Adam, been shut for mankind and has made it possible
for all who believe in him and who join themselves to him to enter this
blissful Paradise and live with him forever. The fullness of the victory
will not be realised until the Second coming when Christ will cast Satan
and his fallen angels into the hell that has been prepared for them, but
until then, Christ allows them to tempt men so that men can find faith in
God, gain knowledge and spiritual strength so as to prepare them for the
spiritual world. This knowledge and spiritual strength we gain by prayer
and fasting, by attending the Church services and by partaking of the
Precious Body and Blood of Christ, but also by hearing and reading
spiritual material. The aim of our weekly talks is precisely to help us
gain more spiritual knowledge that will help us in our spiritual warfare
against the evil powers and prepare us for the life in Paradise. Today we
will continue with the Apostle and Gospel readings for the following
Sunday.
With
the Resurrection of our Lord we begin a new age, a new beginning and the
readings reflect this new beginning. From the first Resurrection Liturgy
the Apostle reading begins from the first Chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles which is the first book of the New Testament after the Gospels
and the Gospel reading is from the first chapter of the Gospel according
to St. John. In the New Testament John’s Gospel is actually the last of
the four Gospels, but in the Church’s Book of the Gospels it is the first.
Why, do I hear you ask? Simply because John begins his Gospel from the
very beginning. Matthew and Luke begin with the Nativity of Christ. The
birth of our Lord is indeed a new start for mankind, a new chapter in the
history of mankind, but it is not the beginning. Mark begins with the
Baptism of our Lord which is again a new beginning, it is the start of our
Lords ministry, but again it is not the beginning. Only John begins from
the very beginning before the creation of this world. He begins saying:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by
him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Thus in the
order of events, John’s Gospel is ranked as the first Gospel. From the
Resurrection Liturgy until Pentecost, most of the readings are taken from
the Acts of the Apostle and St. John’s Gospel. Having said this, there are
a few exceptions and this coming Sunday’s Gospel reading is actually from
St. Mark’s Gospel. But first, let us look at the Apostle reading, which is
from the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 6 verses 1-7.
“In
those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a
murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were
neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude
of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should
leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out
among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,
whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves
continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying
pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith
and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon,
and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the
apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the
word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in
Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the
faith.”
The
election of the Seven Deacons which the reading describes is one of the
most beautiful and instructive pages in the history of the apostolic
Church. It is beautiful because it allows us to touch the body of the
Church as it took its first historic steps as a society and a community of
men: men who in spite of the fact that they had accepted the new faith and
had enjoined themselves to the body of the Church, continued to be
surrounded with human imperfection and were influenced either by their own
passions or by temptations by the evil one.
The
Church is not a society for the clean and perfect, but a hospital for the
weak. Perfection as a way of life in Christ is the end result which the
faithful attempt to achieve. Overcoming human imperfection and achieving
perfection beyond the renewing energy of the Holy Spirit, presupposes the
continual spiritual struggle of the members of the Church. Thus the
complaints and the resentfulness of the Christians of the first Jerusalem
community, mentioned in the reading, come and verifies the human element
of the Church, which we very often forget about and which is why we are so
easily scandalized by the weaknesses which we observe in people in the
ecclesiastical enclosure. The enrolment of the first Christians to the new
faith does not mean that they were automatically transformed or that by
some magic their way of life and behaviour were completely changed
overnight.
At
the same time, the reading is very instructive because it presents us with
the fundamental problems that began to take shape in the internal life and
administration of the first ecclesiastical community of Jerusalem. A way
of life and organization which constituted the prototype for other
communities which were later founded. The unity of the Apostles and the
Christian people, the worthy order of the things that comprise the life of
the ecclesiastical community (prayer, preaching and charity), the way and
the criteria for electing the members who were to accept the various
ministries, the superior position of the Apostles in the life of the
community and the election of those to ecclesiastical orders and lastly
the importance of the Apostolic teaching and the spreading of the
Christian faith are the most important elements which slowly unfold within
the reading.
So, let us take a closer look at the reading by taken one verse at a time.
1) “In those days, when the number of the disciples
was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the
Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.”
The
time specified “In those days” given us by St
Luke for the historic election of the Seven Deacons is rather general and
does not allow us to pinpoint the exact time of the event. What we can be
sure of is that it happened after Pentecost when the Church in Jerusalem
was on its way to becoming established. The Church was still in its
infancy and having taken those first baby steps, conflicts began to arise
among the members from different ethnic background. From early on, the
Christian community began to grow and in spite of the opposition that the
Christian Gospel found among official Judaic circles, the number of the
members of the Church increased very rapidly. One of the names which from
early on was adopted to identify a member of the Church was the name
“Disciple”. The name Christian was not adopted until it was first used by
the Antiochian Church. Until then the members were called Disciples and
the name was to be used widespread later even outside of the Palestinian
borders.
As
a result of the increase of the Christians there appeared various
problems. Luke mentions the complaints of the Greeks against the Judaics
in connection with the daily distribution of foods to Christians who were
in need and especially the Greek widows. From the beginning, the Church
showed particular concern for the welfare of the widows. The Greeks were
Christians who had Judaic roots but who came from Greek places and spoke
the Greek language. The Judaic Christians were Hebrews, born in Palestine
and spoke Aramaic. Thus both the Greek and the Hebrews belonged to the
same race but they spoke different languages and of course had different
mentalities and attitudes.
In
what exactly consisted this negligence of the Greek widows, St. Luke chose
not to specify with greater details. What is important is that the passage
shows that the Apostolic Church from its very beginning showed particular
care and concern for charity work towards her members who were in need.
2) “Then the twelve called the multitude of the
disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the
word of God, and serve tables.”
The
problem that arose had to be dealt with and to find a solution, the twelve
Apostles, including Matthias who took the place of Judas Iscariot, called
a general meeting of all the members of the Church, of the multitude of
the disciples. This action by the Twelve shows the measure of wisdom and
humility which discerns them, because even though they had the power and
authority of the Apostolic dignity given to them by the Lord himself, they
do not solve the problem by themselves, but they place it before the whole
body of the Church and ask for the active participation of all the
Disciples.
The
Apostle’s words to the gathering of the Church reveals the deep
consciousness they had for their mission. They had the Lord’s commandment
to preach the Gospel. But now with the increase of the Christians and the
subsequent problems which began to appear in the internal life of the
Christian community, the foresaw a danger of all their time being absorbed
by the work of serving tables and thus their main work of preaching the
Gospels would be neglected.
The
serving of tables, which was daily, must have been the common meals which
came to be known as the Christian “Agapes” or the gatherings of love which
took place daily during the gatherings of the Christians. After the meals
they would then offer the Eucharist and very possibly the practice of
collecting and distributing charity which had been placed at the disposal
of the Apostles for the needs of the members.
The
priority which the Apostles give to the preaching of the Word of God does
not mean that they undervalue the work of serving tables and other works
of charity and love. Both are equally sacred ministries and the practice
of both constituted a commandment by the Lord himself. But comparing the
two, the work of preaching the Gospel was unquestionably far more nobler
and holier. Thus the Apostles had to remain exclusively devoted to it.
3) “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven
men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business.”
The
Apostles proposal to the members of the Church was for them to choose from
among themselves seven of their members to whom would be assigned the
responsibility of serving the tables at the Agape gatherings. Special
attention should be given to the criteria proposed by the Apostle by which
the people were to use to select the Seven. The Seven had to be men of
honest report, in other words they had to have a good name and be
blameless among the people. This is a basic precondition that the Church
has always tried to observe from the times of the Apostle to the present
day. All candidates who are to be chosen to serve the various positions
and ministries within the Church must have this good report, an
unimpeachable life and an unimpaired character. At the same time they had
to be full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. Every ministry which is
exercised within the body of the Church, even the most material, is a
sacred work which is done in the name of Christ and serves the salvation
of the body of members. Thus even the serving of tables was a ministry of
the saints. And that is why those who were to be entrusted with this
ministry had to be active members of the body of Christ, partakers of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit, men that stood out for their discernment and
wisdom, so that they could exercise the ministry entrusted them with
success. It is clear that the Apostles use of the word wisdom does not
refer to the wisdom that is associated with knowledge but rather the
prudence and good sense and fear of God which are fruits of the Holy
Spirit abiding within us.
The
Apostles entrust the election of the Seven to the multitude of the
faithful and keep their own authority for the appointing, in other words
the power to ordain someone into the diaconate of the Church. St. John
Chrysostom observes that they could just as easily had asked to choose the
seven by drawing lots or by a ballot vote or even select the Seven
themselves inspired by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless they don’t, but allow
the election of the Seven to the crowd and fully accept those that are
chosen and had the Good report of many. Why? So that they would not appear
as favouring certain people over others. They retained for themselves only
that which was exclusively their work, the number to be chosen, the
appointing and the ordination of the chosen.
Traditionally
we call the Seven chosen as Deacons and Stephen an Archdeacon, but nowhere
in the Acts of the Apostles are they given this title. Their ministry was
to serve the tables, the widows and the poor and thus we cannot say that
they were ordained Deacons like the Deacons mentioned in Paul’s letters
who were Deacons of the priestly order as we know them today. But if we
judge from the case of Stephen and Phillip, it is clear that they did not
only serve the work of charity but also preached the word of God.
4) “But we will give ourselves continually to
prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”
In
this verse we see the emphasis given to what is proper for the Lord’s
Apostles. Of foremost importance above anything else are the work of
prayer and the ministry of the word. In contrast the serving of tables was
of a secondary nature. The first was the work of the Apostles and the
second the work of the Seven. St. Luke does not speak of prayer in
general. In the Greek text we find the article “the” before the word
prayer so it should read: “But we will give ourselves continually to the
prayer”. This allows us to conclude that he is referring to a specific
prayer – the public and common prayer offered on behalf of the assembled
community which included the breaking of bread and which has come down to
us as the Divine Liturgy.
Thus
prayer and the ministry of preaching the word of God comprised for the
first years of the Church’s life, the two founding rules of the
ecclesiastical life. With the preaching of the word, God spoke to his
people and with the common prayer, the assembled Church communicated and
united herself with the Lord. Through this double ministry the Apostles
played a significant role. In the ministry of preaching they were the
mouth of God through which he voiced his will. In the ministry of praying
they became the voice and mediators of the people to God. This double
ministry has always been the primal work of the shepherds of the Church
and like the Apostles they should give themselves, or more correctly,
devote themselves to it continually. Every other work is secondary and
must never be exercised at the expense of the main ministry. That is why
the Church has always encouraged various committees to exist within the
structure of the Church; the Church committee who are responsible for the
Church funds and buildings and the charity committees who are responsible
for the cares of the needy within the Parish.
5) “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and
they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip,
and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a
proselyte of Antioch:”
The
Apostle’s proposal was accepted unanimously by the assembly of the
multitude of disciples and is proof of the unity of the Apostolic Church
and expresses the spirit of obedience the first Christians had before the
Apostles of the Lord.
First
is mentioned the First-martyr Stephen as a man full of faith and of the
Holy Ghost. By placing Stephen at the head of the list and characterizing
him as a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, Luke expresses the
common awareness and agreement of all the Church concerning Stephen. It is
certain that when Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles, St. Stephen had
already been martyred for his faith in Christ and was a partaker of the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. Next follows the name of Phillip possibly
because in a following chapter, Luke mentions him preaching in Samaria.
Next follow the other names and lastly is mentioned Nicholas with the
observation that he was a proselyte of Antioch: in other words a believer
who as a gentile first joined himself to the Jewish religion. In the New
Testament apart from the proselytes to Judaism we also have those who
“feared” God and those who “worshipped” God who were people who accepted
the Jewish teachings and mainly the belief in the One God; they took part
in the synagogue’s worship, but had not completely embraced the Jewish
faith by receiving circumcision. Nicholas on the other hand was not just a
fearer or a worshipper of God, but a proselyte, in other words a gentile
who had received circumcision.
6) “Whom they set before the apostles: and when they
had prayed, they laid their hands on them.”
After
the election the assembled community present the seven before the Apostles
who then pray and lay their hands upon them. The prayer and ordination
being exclusively the work of the Apostles completes the official posting
of those whom the multitude gave preference to. With the prayer they
invoke the enlightening and power of the Holy Spirit so that the elected
will have the strength to exercise the ministry they are called to do.
With the laying on of the hands the transmission of the grace in a certain
way becomes tangible and observable. This was something which was done
even in the Old Testament when the Levites selected from the people those
who were to dedicate themselves to the ministry of God. In ordination we
see the human hand touch the head of the candidate - these are the
sensible and visible elements of the Sacrament, but the person who
performs every work is always God; thus the invisible and supernatural
element is always Divine Grace and so we can say that it is God’s hand
that touches the heads of those ordained into the Priesthood. In the Acts
of the Apostles we come across this laying of hands on many occasions.
Sometimes it is to transmit the gifts of the Holy Spirit after Baptism, at
other times to cure an illness and at other times for the mission of
preaching. From similar testimonies from Paul we can say that the laying
of hands as an action to transmit spiritual graces for the various
ministries had become a common practice during the early Church.
7) “And the word of God increased; and the number of
the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the
priests were obedient to the faith.”
With
the election of the Seven Deacons, the problem of caring for the poor was
solved and the Apostles remained completely devoted to the ministry of
preaching the word of God. It didn’t take long for this arrangement to
bear its fruit. With the spreading of the word, the numbers of the
Christians increase daily in Jerusalem. Among the new Christians who
abandoned the Jewish faith and embraced the new faith were many of the
Jewish priests. The new Christians were obedient to the faith. Faith is an
act of obedience; obedience to the Gospel and obedience to God himself who
gave us the commandment “That we should believe on the name of his Son
Jesus Christ, and love one another. (1 John 3:23) Only those who are
obedient to the Gospel of Christ become partakers of his life and citizens
of his kingdom.
This
Sunday is dedicated to the Myrrhbearers in other words to the women who
bought sweet spices and myrrh ointment to anoint the Lord’s dead body. The
Gospel reading is the Resurrection account of when these brave women came
to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath was over to care for the Lord’s body as
was the custom of the Jews. This day is also dedicated to St. Joseph of
Arimathaea and Nicodemus the secret disciple. Let’s hear the reading which
is from St. Mark’s Gospel Chapter 15 verses 43 through to chapter 16 verse
8.
“At that time, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable
counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in
boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if
he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him
whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion,
he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down,
and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn
out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. And Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. And when
the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and
Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And
very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the
sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who
shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they
looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right
side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he
saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was
crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid
him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before
you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they
went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were
amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”
Joseph
of Arimathaea was an honourable and respected member of the Jewish
Council. He was held in high regard for his position, his manners, his
good upbringing and his high standing in the community because he was also
from a wealthy family. He came to believe in Christ, but until the
Crucifixion remained a secret disciple for fear of losing his position in
the community. He must certainly have felt a deep guilt for not speaking
up for Jesus and probably felt that he could have even prevented the
crucifixion if he had been bold enough to stand up and place his own life
on the line. He would of course have lost everything – his important
position, his wealth and would have made himself an enemy of the Jewish
leaders and would have been persecuted. But now he is ready to lose
everything to gain the one true treasure. He realises that nothing in this
world is of value when compared to the treasure he allowed to be crucified
and is ready to lose his own life in order to gain eternal life with
Christ. Thus, it says that he went in boldly unto Pilate and asked to be
given the body of Jesus. Boldly because it was the custom of the Romans to
leave the crucified bodies hanging on the cross for days exposed to the
sun and the rain and the flesh eating birds. Boldly also because the Jews
had a more charitable law which says that the bodies of those crucified
must not remain on the cross during the night but must be taken down and
buried before sunset, but the high priests of the Synagogue were more than
happy to ignore this law; their contempt and hatred for Jesus made them
wash their hands of him as though he was not one of their race and so
didn’t need to be treated according to the their religious laws.
Pilate
was indeed greatly surprised that Jesus was already dead. It was usual for
those crucified to suffer their torture from one to three days before
actually dying. So before releasing the body for burial Pilate had to be
sure that Jesus was indeed dead and that no sigh of life remained in him.
Thus, he called for the Centurion to verify that Christ had been dead for
some time. Pilate could have sent Joseph away without hearing his request
or could have shown an indifference to whether Jesus was buried or not,
but he doesn’t because he wants to give the body to Joseph. For Pilate
this would have been an act that would have eased his heavy conscience
because he knew that Jesus was innocent. He now had the opportunity to
show a certain amount of respect to the body of the man he allowed to be
unjustly crucified.
The
centurion’s report was the official confirmation that Jesus had indeed
died, but all this was done by divine providence. Pilate asked for
verification of the death so that later there could be no question or
doubt that the Lord had not died and so that there would not be any doubts
that he had truly risen. But it was also divine providence that the high
priests didn’t themselves run to Pilate and ask for the body so that they
might drag it through the streets and treat it with the utmost disrespect.
God made sure that the body of his only begotten Son was given as a
precious gift to Joseph who recognized its worth.
With
Christ’s funeral and burial we have nothing of the funeral processions,
the grandeur and fine speeches that accompany those who are honoured in
the world. All there is is a very private and plain burial. But the
remembrance of this burial will continually be remembered throughout the
ages with honour, with sincere contrition, and with devout worship like no
other man has had or ever will have.
Joseph bought fine linen, took Jesus down from the cross and wrapped him
in the linen. But even if Joseph had not bought new linen and had used an
old and used piece of linen, this would have been sufficient. But here we
have an answer to all those that accuse us of adorning our Churches with
expensive and needless items. When it comes to showing our respect to
Christ, we must always be generous and serve him with the very best that
we can provide, and not with some casual and makeshift item that we find
lying around in the attic.
With
the body now wrapped in the new linen cloth it is placed in a sepulchre, a
cave for burial use, which was hewn out of a rock and a very large and
heavy stone, was rolled to close the entrance. While Joseph and Nicodemus,
who is not mentioned in this Gospel account, closed the entrance, Mary
Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where they had laid him. The
rest of the Gospel reading is the exact same reading we heard during the
Resurrection night service, but instead of explaining the reading which is
fairly straight forward and I’m sure you all know anyway, I would like to
concentrate on the Myrrhbearers and on who saw Jesus first.
If
we look at all the resurrection accounts found in the four Gospels, we
might be rather confused and think that each Evangelist is contradicting
the other. Matthew says that “As it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the
angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the
stone from the door, and sat upon it.” Here Matthew tells us that
there were two women and an earthquake caused by the angel that rolled
away the stone from the door.
Mark
says that there were three women Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James, and Salome, who bought sweet spices, that they might come and
anoint him. Here there is no earthquake as the stone is already rolled
away. But further down Mark says that “when Jesus
was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene,”
Luke mentions women who came with Jesus from Galilee and that
“upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto
the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain
others with them”. He then mentions that “It
was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other
women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.”
John says that “The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth
the stone taken away from the sepulchre”.
In
one account there is one angel and in in another there are two, in one
that he appeared to the two Maries and that they held him by the feet and
in another that Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene and there he told her
not to touch him.
It
is confusing because there was not only one visit to the sepulchre, but
probably two, three or even four and each evangelist is giving different
details of these visits. But another thing that brings confusion is that
all four Apostles are trying to conceal the identity of one of the Maries
- not to the faithful who knew who she was, but to the unbelievers who
would have used her testimony of the Resurrection to discredit that it
actually happened. This Mary is none other than the Mother of God who
instead of calling her the Mary the Mother of Jesus is disguised as Mary
the Mother of James or the Mother of Joses or the other Mary. James and
Joses where Joseph’s children from a previous marriage and although they
were older than Mary, legally they were considered her children and Jesus’
stepbrothers. The woman mentioned as Salome is also Joseph’s daughter and
is the mother of James and John the sons of Zebedee. Thus Salome is Jesus’
stepsister.
To
help us get through all this confusion St. Gregory Palamas interprets the
various Gospel accounts in such a clear way and proves that the Mother of
God was the first to see the Risen Christ, because she was the purest and
holiest of all. He says that:
“When
Christ was risen from the dead, no man saw him because no one was present.
But later according to St. Mark, he was seen by Mary Magdalene. But this
is not how it was, because before Mark mentions this he says that Mary
Magdalene went to the sepulchre on a previous occasion with other women
and found the tomb empty and left. So the Lord had risen much earlier that
when Mary saw him. If we try to pinpoint the time of the visit we will
notice that Mark says of the first visit that is was very early but St.
John says that it was still dark. And again according to John, Mary not
only came to the tomb, but left without having yet seen the Lord. In fact
she runs to Peter and John, not to tell them that the Lord is risen, but
that “they have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not
where they have laid him.” Thus up to this moment she had not seen the
Lord and when she finally did see him there was complete daylight. But
there is something that is mentioned by the Evangelist in an obscure way
which I will reveal to you. Truly the joyful news of the Lord’s
Resurrection, first before all other men, as it is proper and just, was
received by the Mother of God from the Lord himself and she first saw the
Risen one and first enjoyed his divine words. And she did not only see him
with her eyes or just hear him with her ears, but with her hands was the
first to touch him, only she touched his pure feet. The Evangelists do not
mention all these things clearly because they don’t want to show his
Mother as a witness of the Resurrection so that they do not give any cause
for suspicion to those who don’t believe in the Resurrection. But because
now we are addressing ourselves to the faithful we will reveal this also.
When
they buried Christ and placed the great stone at the door of the tomb,
there was present according to Matthew, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary,
sitting opposite the sepulchre. With the phrase “the other Mary” the
Evangelist means the Mother of God. Again according to the Same
Evangelist, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary came to the sepulchre. From what I can
surmise, and according to what I have already said, first before all the
Myrrhbearers came the Mother of God to the tomb of her Son and God and
brought with her Mary Magdalene. Then a great earthquake took place,
because an Angel of the Lord, having come down from heaven, rolled the
stone from the door of the sepulchre.
All
the other women came after the earthquake and found the tomb open and the
stone rolled away. But the Mother of God reached there at the time of the
earthquake. And although the guards left because of fear, the Mother of
God delighted in what she saw. I even think that the tomb was first opened
for her (for because of her and through her everything was opened for us,
whatever is above in heaven and down here on earth). And for her sake also
the angel did shine as lightning so that she could see even though it was
still dark. She not only saw the empty tomb, but also the burial clothes
as they were laid and testified to the resurrection.
The
angel was none other that Gabriel. As soon as he saw her running to the
tomb. He who at the Annunciation told her “Fear not Mary, for thou has
found grace with God” now rushes and comes down to tell her the good news
of the Rising from the dead of Him who without seed was born of her and to
remove the stone and show the empty tomb thus verifying the joyful
message.
While
the other Myrrhbearers were still afraid, because they didn’t realise the
great mystery, the Mother of God received the great joy of the
Resurrection and was filled with light because she had reached the
greatest purity and with divine grace she recognized the truth and
believed the Archangel.
How
could she not believe after all the things that had happened? The great
earthquake, the angel coming down from heaven as lightning, the removal of
the stone, the empty tomb, the burial clothes untouched and intact and
held together with the dry flowers and spices yet at the same time empty
of a body.
When
they came out of the tomb after the joyful news of the angel, Mary
Magdalene is as though she had not seen or heard the angel and the only
thing she can verify is the fact that the tomb is empty. She doesn’t even
notice the burial clothes and runs to Peter and John and tells them that
someone has taken the body of the Lord and we know not where they have
laid him. How then is this possible, if she had seen him and touched him
with her hands and heard him speak, would she not have mentioned this to
the Disciples?
Therefore,
first of all the women to meet the Risen Lord, to recognise him and to
fall down and touch his feet was the Mother of God. Later when Mary
Magdalene was met by the Lord he told her not to touch him. How is it
possible when the Evangelist says that they held him by the feet to mean
also Mary Magdalene when the Lord didn’t allow her to touch him? Therefore
Christ only allowed the Mother of God to hold him by the feet. The
Evangelist just simply avoids speaking of the Mother of God clearly so
that it would not appear that the news of the Resurrection was circulated
by his Mother.”
As
I mentioned earlier, this Sunday is dedicated to the Myrrhbearers, so
before finishing the talk we should also mention something in general for
these women disciples. We often hear from women that the majority of the
saints are men and that the Church is an all male institution not allowing
for women to join the priesthood and that they are considered as second
class citizens. The Gospels certainly speak a different story. Yes, the
Apostles were men but there were also women disciples who although are not
mentioned in the same way as the apostles had their role to play in Jesus’
life. Firstly the greatest saint of all above any other person is the
Mother of God. What greater honour can there be for woman than the fact
that through a woman mankind was saved.
At
the crucifixion we see that out of fear the Apostles deserted Jesus and
left him alone, only John remained. On the other hand, the women disciples
remained loyal and courageous and stood by him until the end. And even
then they didn’t desert him, but remained and saw where his body would be
laid. Due to their great love for Jesus they became so brave and bold that
in spite of the climate of panic that circulated the streets, they risked
all danger by coming very early while it was still dark to the tomb to
bring Christ sweet spices mingles with their tears, their love and
devotion. They are ready to endure everything for Christ and even to die
for him. That is why Christ honoured these women above his disciples and
appeared to them first. And because they first heard the good news of the
Resurrection they became Apostles to the Apostles. Thus the Church also
honours woman by dedicating the first Sunday after Thomas Sunday to the
Woman Apostles. We can even say that this Sunday is dedicated to all the
women who in silence serve the Lord. And as we have Mother’s day and
Lady’s day and such, maybe we should rename this day and call it Holy
Women’s day.
|
|
|
