His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow

White Angel at the tomb (detail); Mileseva Monastery, Serbia; 1230 A.D.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me."

- Matthew 28:1-10

Yesterday, we read about the many women who watched from afar, when Jesus was crucified. They had been with Him, ministering to Him, and followed Him from Galilee. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. He placed it in a new tomb hewn from rock. Jesus body was wrapped in linen, and Joseph placed a large stone at the door of the tomb, and left. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day was the Day of Preparation. The chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate, and said, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. After the Sabbath rest, it is the first day of the week. Just at dawn, this first day begins with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary coming again to the tomb. It is a "first day" for so many reasons!

And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. My study bible says, "The earthquake is a sign of Jesus' great victory over death, pointing to the general resurrection. Neither the earthquake nor the moving of the stone expedites Jesus' Resurrection; they are signs for the benefit of the women and the soldiers." Just as we read of the tearing of the veil of the temple in two, from top to bottom, the earthquake and the splitting of rocks, and opened graves at Jesus' death, so here there are great signs of the power of heaven over the earth. Something here is being revealed, something new. The tremendous light of the angel's countenance, the brightness of his clothing, all teach us about this extra-worldly power being revealed in the world. Sitting on the stone "door" of the tomb is a great symbol, a herald of God's power over death.

And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." The guards are terrified, but the angel has a message for the women. (Angelos, the Greek word from which we derive the English word angel, means "messenger".) My study bible points out that it is these two women who are the first witnesses "to the most amazing event in all history: the empty tomb, the first firm evidence of the Resurrection."

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, "Rejoice!" So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me." My study bible says, "Rejoice is the first word of the risen Christ, a common greeting here filled with great blessing." It is the greeting of Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation as well: the first words heralding Jesus' life in the world is also Jesus' first word as Risen Christ. These women, called Apostles to the Apostles, will be the message bearers to the rest of them. They are the first ones to see the Risen Christ.

The return to Galilee is an interesting thing to ponder. This is where it all began, His ministry, where the women are from, where the disciples, "His brethren" are from. It is the first day, an image reflecting the First Day to which we look forward, a herald, a taste of the reality bringing itself to fullness. The Resurrection, the Risen Christ, initiates an age, but it is an age which, in its fullness, is the end of time, an end which will be the Day of the fullness of the Kingdom. But this first day, heralded by an angel in bright white whose countenance is as lightning, is the first day of the Church, to my mind. It's born in the angel's message, in the power of love that sent him, in the "Rejoice" in the word of Jesus who has truly given Himself to us as that which holds power over death. The Church is born in the first day of that which will be fulfilled in the Day that we await. Each time we taste of the power of the Lord in any form, we participate in that Day whose fullness we look forward to. So these women here on the first day are treated to the great Light in the angel and in the risen Christ. How does God greet you with the word of Rejoice? In prayer we may find our lives uplifted, the heart refreshed, in the midst even of chaos and calamity, a sense of peace and hope, the comfort of the way forward -- a light leading us toward and through. Jesus' Rejoice comes to lead them home again, on this first day, and home will always be where the light is. We look to the Day, we taste and see His love.