Why do you seek the living among the dead?

 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.

And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  And they remembered His words  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

- Luke 23:56b-24:11

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus' death on the Cross.  It was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.  Then the sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.'"  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.  But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.  Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man.  He had not consented to their decision and deed.  He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.  That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.  And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.  Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.  Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.   My study bible points out that "the first day of the week was the first day after the Sabbath, which is Sunday, called the Lord's Day in Christian tradition."

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.   The men in shining garments are angels.  The light reflected from their garments reminds us of the Transfiguration.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"  My study bible notes, "He is risen!  The news of great joy, heralding the new dispensation, resounds throughout the whole world, transforming the creation and the lives of millions of men and women."

And they remembered His words  Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.  My study bible explains that "the women going to inform the eleven and . . . all the rest implies that the group of faithful followers of Jesus was larger than the eleven disciples (see Acts 1:14-15)." 

Here we have it, the great good news, found in an empty tomb.  Coming after the shock of crucifixion, what could these women think?  Let us notice that the angels, the two men in shining garments, are there to remind them of the words of Jesus, the promise He told to them.  From the beginning of their lives without Him in the flesh, we see the movements of the Church, the stirrings of the things that make for the Church.  There are Joseph of Arimathea and these women, in yesterday's reading, going about their business and doing what they must do to serve Him, even in His death.  And today, the angels of heaven come to remind them of His words.  This is the grace we know and understand that creates His Body, the Church.  These are the actions we understand.  We do what we can to serve, and in turn, the grace of God serves us, reminding us of His words, adding meaning and fleshing out all things that we read of His words and His promises.  I find the meaning of their words quite astounding, when they say to the women, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"  These words of grace point us to much more than just these women in the tomb who seek Christ, and seek to know where He is.  They also tell us about our lives, about direction, and about finding what makes for the life of the Church.  Jesus has earlier told one who would be His disciple, "Let the dead bury their own dead."  We have a sense of what enlivens and what does not, to the extent that One who has been crucified on a Cross, in a public execution lives, while others have been called "dead" who "bury their own dead."  In the light of the angels' garments, we find more evidence of life, the life in abundance that was promised in Jesus' teaching to His disciples, the light that shines in the darkness, even in the darkness of a tomb.  The early church has left us with many things, but perhaps there is none so distinctive as its emphasis on two ways:  the way of life and the way of death.  The earliest surviving writing we have called the Didache, or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, begins with the following declaration:  "There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between these two ways."  Evidence tells us that from the beginning, the earliest members of the Church would distinguish between the two ways, and theirs was the Way of Life.  So we have it in the words of the angels here in this scene.  Why do you seek the living among the dead? can become a metaphor for everything in our lives.  What gives us life, and what does not?  Are there people in your life who seem to enliven, to help with what is good, to practice the commandments of Christ such as charitable living toward others, the kindness in a cup of water -- and are there others who do not offer this life at all?  Perhaps one of our greatest concerns isn't so much whether people call themselves spiritual or religious, but whether or not the ways of life or the ways of death are what we find around ourselves, and the choice we make in the midst of them.  In this question, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" the angels remind us that Christ has come to free us from what afflicts us, from the 'strong man' that binds, that restricts life and takes it away from us, that burdens and shuts out the light.  Let us remember that He is here to give us the fullness of life in abundance, and that to follow His commandments is to find and seek that life, the Way of life.  As you go through your day, consider what really brings you life, and what may deaden it and bring affliction, shutting out the light.  It is the light that shines in the darkness that distinguishes this Way, and the grace of the Spirit that continually unfolds His words and meanings and teachings for us, giving us life, so that in His light we see light.  Grace for grace, the Spirit gives so that we may share.  Don't waste your time on whatever blocks it out of view, the things that cause us darkness at noon.