Rejoice!

 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 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 that, at Jesus' crucifixion, many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.  Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him.  When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.  And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.  On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, "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.  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 as white as snow.  And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.  My study bible calls this earthquake a sign of our Lord's great victory over death, which foreshadows the general resurrection of all humanity.  It notes that the angel does not roll back the stone to let the Lord out.  In His glory, Christ could pass through solid rock (John 20:19).  Instead, rolling back the stone allows the witnesses in to see that He is already risen.

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.  These women are the first witnesses to the supreme event in all history:  the Resurrection of Christ and the destruction of death.  My study bible notes that the angel refers to Christ as the One who was crucified, which teaches us not to shy away from His death, but rather to glory in the Cross (1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 6:14) -- as it is the weapon Christ used to destroy death and the trophy of His victory.  St. Paul tells us, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17). 

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."  The first word of the risen Christ is "Rejoice!" followed by "Do not be afraid."  These women are called "Apostles to the Apostles" as it is they who are sent to give Christ's brethren the message to go to Galilee where they will see Him.

"Rejoice!" is the first message of the risen Christ.  The second is also important for us, "Do not be afraid."  Together these messages make up the gist of our faith, and what it is to live the faith of Christ.  In Greek, this word -- this command, really -- is used also for formal greetings.  Indeed, it is the first word of the Annunciation, the first word in the story of Christ.  The first word of Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:28)  is often translated as, "Greetings"  or "Hail."   It is "Ave" in Latin.  But in Greek it quite literally is a command to "Rejoice!"  It is the identical word Christ says to the women here; the one difference is that to Mary at the Annunciation it is singular, and here to the women it is plural.  In Greek, it is also linked to the word for grace, as is the word "charism."  Even the word Eucharist ("give thanks") has this root at its center.  We rejoice for the gifts of God, for God's grace -- and remember that this is literally a command to be joyful.    If we think about it, each of these commands come from a sense in which the reality of this world is stood on its head.   Jesus, their Teacher, has just been crucified.  But His followers are commanded to rejoice and to not be afraid.  This is the word of our faith to us.  We are to take joy in the grace that fills our lives through faith, and to reject fear in the face of the courage to live that faith in our worldly lives.   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that we are the light of the world.  He tells us, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  But light, or illumination, also comes through this command to rejoice, or to "be joyful."  The joy-infused life of faith is truly a gift of grace.  At the Last Supper, just before His crucifixion, John's Gospel tells us that Jesus says to the disciples, "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."  And then, in His next sentence, He says, "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:11-12).  To bear this joy and this love is how we shine the light of illumination into the world for all to see.  We are not to be afraid, but to live our faith, to live that joy and allow it to reflect God's light into the world.  It is ours by grace; let us follow as He commands!