EASTER VIGIL
God does the right things, but too
often he does them with the wrong people, by conventional standards. Take, for
instance, today’s Resurrection announcement. First of all, the witnesses are
not men but women: the two Marys. It is quite striking that the proclamation is made to women. The
culture of the time did not accept women’s status as witnesses in any court of
law, much less for an extraordinary event like the Resurrection. Being the
first to see the risen Christ was a unique privilege; but to be given the task
of announcing the joyful news to the men; no, that’s going too far ! Only goes
to show you how true the Gospel is. For convenience and greater credibility the
Gospel writers could have manipulated the story to make the men look like the
first witnesses. That would have carried weight in the culture of the time. But
they submitted to the truth and said it like it happened, even if it meant
feeding humble pie to the men folk.
Women were kept down. The
announcement of liberation is made to an oppressed section of society. All the
more striking because the empty tomb presents only circumstantial evidence that
can only begin to lead to faith. In Matthew’s Gospel, the resurrection story
challenges us to believe in the miraculous; that God can and does bring about
what he has promised. A miracle that actually happened at a particular time and
place. Miraculous and historical went together.
The women worshipped Jesus when they
encountered him, not just because he was alive, risen from the dead, but
because the Resurrection put the stamp of approval on all his life and work. In
Jesus we see the evidence of God’s total,unsolicited, self-giving love. Our
response in faith is that of the two women: joy, awe, worship and eagerness to
tell the others.
INVOCATION (Janet Morley)
May the God who
shakes heaven and earth,
whom death could
not contain,
who lives to
disturb and heal us,
bless you with
power to go forth
and proclaim the
Gospel.
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