In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Christ is risen!
Our Saviour was dead, and yet Joseph besought Pilate for the Body, our Saviour was dead, and yet Nicodemus found the courage to prepare Him for burial, our Saviour was dead, and yet the women came at early dawn to anoint Him. The tradition identifies them as the Theotokos, whom Mark calls here the mother of Joses and James, together with Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Cleopas, Martha and Mary of Bethany, sisters of Lazarus, Joanna, Salome and Susanna, all seeking the corpse of their Lord that they may do for Him one final act of love. They had not planned, only realising on their journey the question, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” but they did not turn aside from their purpose.
And these all showed the courage that the eleven did not. The ones who were to be of leadership in the Church cowered while the women showed valour, they stayed back while the women leapt to action, they left the women to perform the rituals appropriate for the dead. And for their courage the angel cried out to the women with great rejoicing,
Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid Him.
And I must reflect on this narrative; whom do I emulate? I claim to be a follower of the Lord, I claim—unlike those in the Gospel account—to know that the tomb is empty and that the Lord is risen, I claim nearly two millennia of Church history, of the teachings of the Apostles, of the witness of the martyrs, of the explanation of the Fathers: whom, then, do I emulate? Do I hide behind locked doors (see John 20:19) or do I go out and do for the Lord and for His people what love requires?
If I allow some honesty to be revealed in me, I realise that I am standing behind a locked door. I realise the Truth of the Gospel but I do not want anything required of me. For me, Christ is risen and I am content, Christ is risen and I can enjoy the rest, Christ is risen and I can rejoice when others find Christ but not worry too much if they do not. And on the Great and Last Day, when I must stand before my Lord and Judge, I will say to Him,
Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied in Your Name, cast out demons in Your Name, and done many wonders in Your Name?
Matthew 7:22
But I will have failed to understand the Gospel: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” says the Lord through the prophet Hosea, “And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6, see also Matthew 9:13, 12:7) And having performed signs and wonders, sacrifices and burnt offerings, I will have failed to offer mercy, unlike the Myrrh-bearers, unlike the martyrs, and on the Final Day the Lord will declare to me,
I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!
Matthew 7:23
And so I must change, I must repent. The disciples changed, from those who hide to those who preached the Gospel,
Their proclamation went forth into all the earth,
Psalm 18:5 LXX
And their words to the ends of the world.
And this was not of their own accomplishments but by allowing Christ to work in them and through them despite their shortcomings as we see when He spoke to the Apostle.
But [God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Second Corinthians 12:9–10
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
And, lest I be cast out into the everlasting fire, (see Matthew 25:41) this is how I must be. If I desire to be a follower of Christ I must emulate the courage and love of the Myrrh-bearers, if I desire to be a follower of Christ I must live the Gospel and not only speak it, if I desire to be a follower of Christ I must allow Him to work in me—for He will grant the strength if only I let Him—as did the Apostles. By myself I tremble behind the locked door, too afraid to do anything for the Gospel, but by allowing Christ to work in me all things are possible.
Let us, therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, not only talk about the Resurrection but live it. Let us follow more perfectly the words of the Lord to us,
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Matthew 5:44–45
that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven.
And by following the Lord, by expressing love in the face of hatred, blessings in the face of curses, Life in the face of death, we too may witness the angel say to us,
Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
That we—following the witness of the Myrrh-bearers, of Joseph and of Nicodemus—may be worthy to confess the empty tomb of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and offer Him praise, glory and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen.
In those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, “it is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochoros, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaos, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
— Acts 6:1–7
At that time, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
— Mark 15:43–47, 16:1–8