Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that it was about the sixth hour (noon), 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 hand 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.  The first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath; that is, Sunday.  In the Christian tradition, this is called the Lord's Day, and it is the day of worship (Acts 20:7).  

 

 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 comments that the stone is rolled away not to let the all-powerful Lord out, but in order to let us witness Christ's Resurrection.  

 

 And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  These two men . . . in shining garments are angels.

 

 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 comments that, in order to dispel any doubt, the angel confirms his message by recalling Christ's own words.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.  

 

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 comments that certain patristic teachers say that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most of the Fathers hold that this is the Virgin Mary, who was in fact the stepmother of a different James, "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).  In some icons of the Myrrhbearing Women, and in a hymn written by St. John of Damascus, it is sung, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."  

 

Why are women the first to hear the word of the Resurrection?  Indeed, in this account, they are the first to preach that Christ is Risen!  In the Church, these Myrrhbearing Women are also known as Apostles to the Apostles, for they are the ones who preach the word of Resurrection -- and tell of this good news -- to the apostles who are in hiding.  And why them, then?  Why these women?  These are the ones -- including Christ's mother, the Theotokos and Virgin Mary -- who have followed Him from Galilee, and been loyal to Him and supported Him all this time.  But I have read an interesting commentary in defense of the veracity of these Gospel accounts.  That starts, ironically, from the fact that it was men (in Christ's time) who were considered worthy witnesses.  Women were not generally considered to be reliable, or believable (as we can see confirmed in the reaction of the apostles to the news).  But this tends to lend credibility to the Gospel accounts, as it follows logically that if only men were seen as trustworthy witnesses, then an invented story would have used men as their witnesses.  St. Luke's Gospel, as we have repeatedly observed, pays close attention to the women involved in Christ's ministry, for we get a humane glimpse into their essential relationships with Christ, His sympathetic nature, and the values these women contribute.   Another traditional observation is that even as  the "first sin" began with the temptation of our maternal ancestor Eve, our fallen state is overcome in Christ when women are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection.  So let us be grateful for these women, the myrrh they bear to anoint Christ's body, God's angels who announce the good news to them, and the Gospels that give us this so very worthy story to cherish and to build our lives upon.  For God uses everything available to us to glorify even the least of these, the smallest things in our lives, and out of them to create monumental values that hold through the test of time and our faith.  We also may observe the care and especially mercy that is symbolized in the anointing of oil and myrrh, for in their love and charity, these women tell us what God's grace will repay with glorious anointing in return.  They are saints we may call upon even when dire circumstances and loss come upon us, to teach us about gracious behavior and the mercy that supersedes all authority as we practice our faith as well.  God works through human beings, God's angels, and all of creation to bring us the good news of His glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 

'Seeing they may not see,

And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

 

- Luke 8:1–15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"    Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  My study Bible notes that these women were faithful to Christ to the end (Luke 23:49, 55), and were the first to receive and proclaim the news of Christ's Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, it continues, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness.  So this indicates that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing.

 

 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Here Jesus gives His first parable, to a great multitude which had gathered from every city.  In all the Synoptic Gospels, the parable of the Sower is the first told by Jesus (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20).  

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.  My study Bible comments that as the sower in this parable, Christ fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13.  It says that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment faith is professed -- a view never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Jesus is clear that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.    Jesus tells the disciples, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"  (See Isaiah 6:9.)  My study Bible explains that mysteries are not obscure intellectual concepts, but the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  It says that a person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom comments, "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was  a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  Doing so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."

 

 What stories do we know which tell us about our faith?  Jesus gives us stories in the form of parables.  These are memorable illustrations of the ways of the Kingdom, how the Kingdom works, and who Christ is.  As mentioned above, in all the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus begins His preaching in parables with the parable of the Sower, given in today's reading.  We also have Jesus' explanation for the parable.  Clearly, He is the Sower, and the seeds He sows are the gospel message.  Where will they fall?  If we think carefully about this parable (and about Jesus' words explaining it to His disciples), we'll come to see that we might fall anywhere on the spectrum of the ground He describes, at any time -- or at various periods of our lives.  Each of us knows seasons of the kinds of temptations and struggles Jesus describes.  First of all He describes the work of the adversary, the devil, reminding us that there are spiritual foes at work in the world, seeking to snatch away the word.  We all deal with temptations of various kinds; some we may harbor and nurture, others we do our best to refuse.  And then there are the times we may be choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life -- always with us and seemingly an integral part of our world.  Perhaps the demand for such is exacerbated and accelerated through modern technologies and means of communication, drowning out the word of God.  We need to seek out Christ's word, keeping it with us, energizing and enlivening it within ourselves to counter all of these effects.  But then there is the good ground, and one presumes that those who seek out that good word know that effect of the good ground within them and seek to nurture it.  Moreover we should note that, in Jesus' words, not only does this ask of us a noble and good heart, but we must also keep that word, and bear fruit with patience.  That "with patience" is important, for sometimes the fruits of our faith take time, and sometimes living the word takes patience with all the things in life that seek to get in the way.  Note that patience also implies that our effort is steady, over time.  As my study Bible noted, faith is not a one-time-only confession, but a life of lived effort.  Our path is for our lives, and for that we need the patience to understand the sustained nature of the faith Jesus speaks about.  But there is joy in the heart by living with this word, and the grace we're given helps and sustains.  My study Bible says that parables are word-pictures, given to us in images from daily life, meant to communicate the deep things of God.  It says that parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Note in today's parable how Christ the Sower sows the word of God in the earth.  We need spiritual eyes and ears to hear and understand, but His word is here and present, seemingly awaiting us.  When life seems to be filled with piled up urgencies and needs, news of the day, and all manner of distraction, let's remember that His word is always awaiting us, and the depth of our hearts.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 

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 

 

Yesterday we read that it was about the sixth hour [or noon], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour [approximately 3 p.m.].  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.   

 

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.  This first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath.  It is Sunday, which in the Christian tradition is called the Lord's Day (in Greek, Κυριακή/Kyriaki) -- the day of worship (Acts 20:7).  The spices which were prepared by the women (see the final verse in yesterday's reading, above) were traditionally prepared against the corruption of the bodies of the dead.  

 

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  See Matthew 28:2.  My study Bible suggests that this stone is rolled away not to let the all-powerful Lord out, but so that we may witness Christ's Resurrection.

 

 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.   These two men in shining garments are angels.

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.  My study Bible comments that, in order to dispel any doubt, the angel confirms this message by recalling the words of Christ Himself.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday. 

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 comments that certain patristic commentary teaches that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most hold that this Mary is the Virgin Mary, as she is in fact the stepmother of a different James, called "the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:19; see also  Matthew 13:55, compare to Mark 15:40, 47).  My study Bible further notes that the Virgin Mary appears in certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women.  Moreover, in a hymn by St. John of Damascus, it is sung, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."

 

 Let us note how matter-of-fact these extraordinary events seem to be as they are told.  We're not given to great extremes here of astonishment, or anguish in mourning, or more superlatives about the emotions of the women, nor even stupendous appearances of these angels or even of the rolled away stone.  The most we're given in terms of unusual descriptive images is the clothing of the angels; they're wearing shining garments.  But even so, the text doesn't tell us directly that they are angels; they are "two men in shining garments."  It is only the shining, light-filled quality of their garments that speaks to us of the glory of the Lord reflected through them, and that they are angels.  The women, in response, are not so frightened that they run away.  Instead, we are told that they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth. This kind of fear is akin to awe at beholding what comes from God, and is therefore a kind of testimony to a power beyond our understanding.  It is a kind of fear that comes from the fact that it is outside of the earthly and the worldly, and inspired by the presence of the holy, which comes from God.  In these short verses, we're given no great cinematic style buildup to this event, but an almost quiet recounting of the way that the truly awesome and extraordinary intervenes in our lives, a kind of perspective that we can only understand upon reflection, and given time to understand all the tremendous meanings and effects that belong to this moment of revelation.  For that is what this truly is, it is a revelation.  As the stone is rolled away, so we might say that this is a type of apocalypse, the root meaning of which is to "uncover."   The stone is rolled away, so that a deeper reality might be revealed.  In this empty tomb, in the presence of these "two men in shining garments" we are given the true reality behind the scenes of the worldly, through their announcement to these women:  "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!"   This is also the pronouncement of the fulfillment of prophecy:  "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 this is how the revelations of God happen in our own lives.  Not with the drumbeat of something approaching we can't quite grasp, not with an announcement before the whole world, but in our private places, like this empty tomb, and even in the quiet of what feels truly personal but may be extraordinary.  What we observe in a worldly sense is the response of the apostles to this earth-shattering news:  they think they are hearing idle tales, and they did not believe them.  So often, even in our own lives, we can expect that this is the way that revelation -- even those which change our lives -- comes to us.  The good news of Christ may come to us as we read the pages of one of the Gospels, as we pray alone, as we sit in Church and sense something of a change of attitude in ourselves, or maybe a sudden ease of the heart.  The powerful work of God does not come to us in the way an earthly spectacle dreamed up for a horror film, for instance, would give us garish images.  But God works in ways that move us deeply, that give us conviction and awareness even though none around may sense the same.  In this quiet place of an empty, unused tomb the angel gives the awesome, amazing, and yet gentle good news that they must no doubt struggle to comprehend.   First, with a question:  "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" and then, "He is not here, but is risen!"  It reminds us of Jesus' own words, teaching the Sadducees about the real nature of the resurrection they can't imagine nor understand, and do not expect -- that "He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him"  (Luke 20:38).  In this light of the true reality behind all the appearances of the world, this becomes perfect sense, that where God is, there is life.  There are those who may appear to us as living, but they are spiritually dead ("Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God," Jesus says to one who wants to follow but first go to bury his father, in Luke 9:60).  Jesus doesn't just promise water to those who thirst, but "rivers of living water" (John 7:38).  We observe earthly life even where there isn't faith, but Christ is the living bread which gives life to the world (John 6:33, 51).  He is the light of the world, which is the light of life (John 8:12).  We might see what we see, and live as we live day to day, but there is a deeper layer of what is real, and it speaks to us of what is truly alive, and what gives life -- even life "more abundantly" (John 10:10).   But one needs faith to take in what is being revealed.  The women come to the tomb, doing their duty, keeping their heads in ways that the frightened men in hiding are not.  But they do not find the dead, they find the angels announcing life and Resurrection, who remind them first of this truth by asking, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" and affirming the truth, "He is not here, but He is risen!"   Let us, also, not seek the living among the dead, because we won't find the life we seek there.  Let us remember these words, that He is risen!

 

 

 

 

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 

 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 23:56—24:11 

 

Yesterday we read that 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.   These are "the women who had come with Him from Galilee," as indicated in yesterday's text, above.  The spices and fragrant oils are preparations for the corruption of Christ's body, intended to delay and disguise decay.  The first day of the week was the day after the Sabbath -- in other words, Sunday -- which in the Christian tradition is called the Lord's Day, the day of worship (Acts 20:7).  

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  See also Matthew 28:2.  My study Bible comments that the stone is rolled away not to let the all-powerful Lord out, but to allow us to witness His Resurrection.  

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. The men in shining garments were angels.  

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.  My study Bible comments that in order to dispel any doubt, the angel confirms his message by recalling Christ's own words.  In calculating the third day, we understand the first day to be Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second day is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ rested in the tomb.  The third day -- which begins after sundown on Saturday -- is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.

 

 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 says that certain patristic writers teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  Most, however, hold that this is the Virgin Mary, being in fact the stepmother of a different James, who is "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare to Mark 15:40, 47).  

What does the empty tomb signify?  How strange that an empty tomb, with the stone rolled away from it, signifies the greatest "contents" anyone could ever imagine.  The Venerable Bede writes on this passage that, having kept the Sabbath in accordance with the commandment, the women come to the tomb to anoint Christ's body because they think He is dead.  To find the tomb empty gives the appearance of finding nothing, but in effect, they make the greatest find of all:  that Christ is risen and will in fact now be present in the sacraments.  The rolled away stone, as my study Bible comments, leaves the tomb open precisely so that human beings can discover this truth.  (Christ did not need the stone to be rolled away!)  It is akin to the tearing of the veil of the temple (see yesterday's reading, above), which enables human beings to come closer to God, to commune with the presence of God which was once hidden behind the temple veil.  This discovery -- although not at first believed by the Twelve -- enables the comprehension of Christ's repeated prophecies of His death and Resurrection, which was hidden from the disciples when Jesus taught them these things.  The proclamation of the angels begins to make sense out of His death.  Both St. Chrysostom and the Venerable Bede comment that the angels affirm that the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus are part of the divine plan as foretold by the ancient Scriptures and by Jesus himself.  The words of the angels will call to the minds of the apostles the remembrance of these prophecies, and gain their understanding.  Moreover, in the spiritual history of Israel, Genesis tells us that it was a woman who caused corruption to be brought into the world through temptation and lies; but here it is women who are the first to be told the truth of the Resurrection, and who spread that news to the disbelieving men.  St. Cyril of Alexandria teaches us that just as angels appeared at His birth, so they now appear in the empty tomb.  But they are not there to announce death; they are once again present to announce life itself (John 14:6).  St. Cyril writes, "Let no one seek among the dead him who ever lives."  In yesterday's commentary, we noted St. Cyril of Alexandria's commentary:  "Observe that no sooner had Christ endured the Passion on the Cross for our sakes than He began to win many unto knowledge of the truth."  This quick resolution of so many open questions continues especially in today's reading, in the image of the empty tomb, the presence of the angels, and the women who are the first to hear and to relay the good news.  The empty tomb confirms the presence of life itself, the opening of communion with God in the sacraments, the presence of the angels immediately teaches us the reality of the good news, making full sense of Christ's teachings and predictions of His death and Resurrection.  There is, of course, more to come, but the immediate effects are palpable and enlightening, as if something that one day seemed entirely undone is suddenly wrapped up as a beautiful gift.  We should always remember this in our own lives also, on an intimate scale, that where there is a crucifixion, with Christ there will always be a Resurrection, for He is the way, the truth, and the life.  The angels ask, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?"  In Luke 9:60, Jesus taught one who would be His disciple, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  To "follow Him" is the way of life and the good news is in the empty tomb.

 

 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.   Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,

And hearing they may not understand.'

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

- Luke 8:1–15 

 

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed then with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

 

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.   These verses appear almost as they are a direct a continuation from yesterday's reading, in which we read of the great love of this woman, a notorious sinner, came to anoint Christ's feet with expensive oil in a deep display of love and faith, and whose sins were forgiven by Christ.  The Gospel presents us with these other women who were so essential to Christ's ministry.  My study bible comments that these women were faithful to Christ to the end (Luke 23:49, 55), and they were the first to receive and proclaim the news of Christ's Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  In the Scriptures, my study bible teaches, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness, indicating that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing.  

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.   Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Here Jesus tells His first parable.  The parable of the Sower is given as Christ's first parable in all three Synoptic Gospels (see also Mark 4, Matthew 13).  At this stage in His ministry there is a great multitude gathered to hear Him, and they have come from every city to do so.  We have also just read of the women who support His ministry.  It is at this stage of great public attention that Christ shifts to teaching in parables, and gives this parable of the Sower first.  It is a parable about Himself and His ministry, a "word picture" with images from every day life in this agrarian society, given as a kind of riddle for people to seek to understand for themselves.  Thus Jesus says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" alluding to Isaiah's prophecy, from which He quotes to the disciples in the verses that follow.  As the sower in the parable, He fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13. 

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that  'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"   Mysteries, my study bible explains, are not obscure intellectual concepts, but they are the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  It says that a person's unwillingness to understand Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom writes, "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would have been not only to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9. 

"Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  Here, Jesus explains the parable to the disciples, to those who are already committed to Him in faith.  My study bible asks us to note that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment one professes faith -- a view which was never held by the historic Church -- the teaching of Jesus is clear that it's possible to believe for a while and then fall away.  

 

 My study bible tells us that the Hebrew and Aramaic words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  These stories, which consist of images drawn from daily life in the world, are meant to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  It says that parables give us "glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways" (Isaiah 55:8-9).   Just as important to our understanding that this is the way Christ has chosen to communicate is the fact that not everybody is going understand the parables.  This is built in to this style of teaching.  Why would Christ teach in ways that not everybody is going to understand?  In a world that is filled with all kinds of information -- so often irrelevant to our lives or professions -- why would someone, intent on public preaching, choose to do so in a way that is going to be obscure to at least some of His listeners?  That is a very important question.  As the parable itself indicates, so much about our faith also depends on us.  That is, we, the faithful.  Jesus' parable of the Sower speaks of struggles, of difficulties that come from the world and get in the way of faith -- things against which a believer struggles.  First there is the devil, who comes to those who've heard and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  Then there are those people who receive Christ's word with joy, but in whom it doesn't take deep root -- therefore, they believe for a short time, but when they're tempted, they fall away.  And then there are the thorns of this world.  Jesus gives an image of people who've heard the word, but are then choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  The "cares, riches, and pleasures of life" are always with us, perhaps now more than ever, reaching into all economic strata on some level or another.  These things are presented by Jesus as that which takes away our attention and time from living and doing and fulfilling His word, because we are choked with these goals and distractions, pursuing what does not bear spiritual fruit.  I see this as a great struggle of modern life, technological advancement, and prosperity levels not seen in the world in times past.  Finally Jesus says, "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."   Let us note that even with a noble and good heart, there is a struggle here, because we bear fruit only with patience.  In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus teaches, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."  If we read the Sermon on the Plain carefully (as well as the Sermon on the Mount), we see that Christ means a "good and noble heart" not as something we're either born with or not, but something we work at, build, protect, and nurture through time.  We are to take note, cultivate an awareness of our own flaws, and take decisive action to cast them aside.  Jesus does not present us with a world in which we are asked to simply "believe" and then everything will fall into place.   Neither is belief something that is handed to us like a child being spoon-fed.  Rather, these truths -- which are, importantly, mysteries -- are given to us through parables.  We are called upon to respond in order to derive benefit from them.  We are called to discipleship to cultivate a life in which these seeds can grow and bear fruit through nurturing, pruning, discernment, and support.  But front and center is Christ's commentary:  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  We are called upon to care about what He's teaching, to have a particular type of ears, attuned to hear the things of spiritual importance, to care enough to want what He's offering.  These things He's teaching in the parables are called mysteries because they point to something beyond themselves, to a deeper reality that is beyond the surface and behind the words.  He is Jesus, and He is teaching important things.  But He is also the Son of God, Second Person of the Trinity, and He's seeking to initiate us (that is, those who really want what He offers) into a communion of saints, a hierarchy of the divine, the things that will make us grow in stature and likeness to Him, and to be able to share in this communion that extends throughout a universe of creation we can't see.  It is an invitation into love and depth and a communion of wisdom and beauty, and this is what is on offer in the parables.  But we have to really, really want this.  We have to care about it, be drawn to it, into faith and trust and love.  And we have to want what's good.  We might be called but there are also those who are chosen.  We bear fruit through real desire, and through patience, and through following this word, keeping it precious, and working at it every day through the difficulties that come in spite of our faith, and maybe even because of it.  That is where He calls us, but can you hear and see it?  Let us take note of some of His most devoted followers, named in the first verses in today's reading.  They are women, and include Mary Magdalene, one who was given over completely to darkness.  At a certain point in the West, she somehow got assigned the label of prostitute, but this was never true in the East.  We don't really know how "darkness" was expressed in her life, only that Christ cast out seven demons -- and she became one of His greatest followers, and was given the title Apostle to the Apostles.  Those who truly desire what He offers cannot be defined by labels and appearance but are discerned through the heart, and through love of Christ.  Let us remember!

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 like idle tales, and they did not believe them

 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 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 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 like idle tales, and they did not believe them.

- Luke 23:56b-24:11

Yesterday we read that at Christ's crucifixion,  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 prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

 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 spices which they had prepared.  Those who rested on the Sabbath are the women who had come with Christ from Galilee; on Friday (the Preparation) they had prepared spices and fragrant oils for anointing His body for burial, against corruption.  The first day of the week is the day after the Sabbath; that is Sunday.  In Christian tradition this is called the Lord's Day, the day of worship (in Greek, Κυριακή/Kyriaki).  See Acts 20:7.

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 says that the stone is rolled away not because Christ needed to be let out, but rather so that we can witness His Resurrection.

And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  These men in shining garments are angels.  We note the similarity to the shining garments of Christ at His Transfiguration (9:28-36).

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.   My study bible says that in order to cast away any doubt, the angel confirms the message by recalling Christ's words to them.  In calculating the third day, the first day is Friday, the day on which Christ died before sundown.  The second is Saturday, which is the Sabbath on which He rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to 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 like idle tales, and they did not believe them.   Some Church Fathers teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (6:15).   But most hold that this Mary is the Virgin Mary, who is in fact the stepmother of another James, called "the Lord's brother" (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).

The text tells us that the apostles did not believe the women when they told of what they saw, that their words seemed like idle tales.  Once again we have to be impressed by the Gospels.  Our Book does not gloss over mistakes!  It does not gloss over poor behavior, it does not gloss over the failings of the followers of Christ.  It gives us the whole story, the real deal.  Let us remember that the angels, as reported by Luke, repeat Christ's own words to the women to affirm the Resurrection.  They say, "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.' "   Seemingly everyone has forgotten this.  The women need to reminded again, and the apostles don't believe a word the women say, it all sounds too fantastical.  But at least, in the people who form the cast of characters in the Gospel and the story of the Church, we have the reality of all of us given to us.  That is, we all begin in faith from the place we know, the worldly.  There is nothing left out here.  The assumptions of the apostles and of the women going to the tomb are the same as all of us, the same as those who find faith in this story impossible, preposterous, foolishness and stumbling block (see 1 Corinthians 1:22-25).  We are there with them, they are there with us -- the Gospel takes us through this story of faith right from where we all start.  It does not gloss over the difficulties and "foolishness."  It does not constrain us to say that there is something wrong with us if our faith is not immediately perfect.  It takes us as we are -- as they are -- and leads us through the story of our faith, the story of life and Resurrection, of that which is raised from the dead and also has the power to bring life to the places where we feel we are dead, hope is lost, despair our only choice.  The Resurrection is not simply the good news of Christ as the One who lives.  It asks us to come along with Him, to a life in which our own dead ends are nothing of the sort, but may be simply a crucifixion before Resurrection.  It asks us to come along to the place where there is life, and in our own lives, to stop seeking the living among the dead.  It asks us, like the apostles and the women, to find the life He holds for us -- and to continue although our own story might feel like it's done.  This is the reality of the empty tomb, and the disciples who cannot believe the women.  We are all here in this world with its dead ends and its finalities, its certainties, only that's never really the end of the story.  He brings us life, and where we least expect it.

Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!

 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

Yesterday we read that about the sixth hour, 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.  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 see 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.  The two men in shining garments are angels.  The text gives us the timeline here:  On Friday (the day of Preparation, when Jesus' body was placed in the tomb) the women prepared the spices and fragrant oils.  On the Sabbath, they rested according to the commandment.  This day is Sunday, the first day of the week.  The calculation of the third day begins on Friday, the day on which Jesus died before sundown.  The second day is Saturday, the Sabbath on which Christ also rested in the tomb.  The third day, which begins after sundown on Saturday, is the day of Resurrection, Sunday.  In order to dispel any doubt, my study bible notes, the angel confirms his message by recalling Christ's own words for the women.

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.   Some by tradition teach that Mary the mother of James was the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (6:15).  But most Church Fathers hold that this is the Virgin Mary.  She is, in fact, the stepmother of a different James, "the Lord's brother (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).  My study bible tells us that the Virgin Mary appears in certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women, and in a  hymn by St. John of Damascus, the Orthodox Church sings, "The angel cried to the lady full of grace, 'Rejoice, O pure Virgin:  your Son is risen from His three days in the tomb."

Three days in the tomb.  The angels who appear in the tomb have an announcement to the women, just as with Christ's birth, the angel made the announcement to Mary.  And here, it is the women who accept the good news, just as did Mary in Luke's first chapter, with the words, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."  It is these faithful women are first at the tomb, who first hear the word, and who first believe.  The apostles themselves are in hiding.  But it is the women who have come to care for Jesus' body.  It takes quite some courage to do so, under the circumstances in which Christ has died -- and under the watchful eyes of the authorities who already suspect that there will be some tricks played by His followers.  Always, we come back to these women and their faithfulness.  In addition to His mother, these are those women who have followed and supported His ministry from Galilee.  They have been with Him all along.  They have not deserted Him, nor have they gone into hiding. Mary Magdalene is called Apostle to the Apostles with good reason.  We have to consider these women carefully, because although their roles are not center stage such as those of the Twelve, they form the support in this story.  In Luke's 8th chapter, we're told that these women not only travel with Him, but they support this ministry -- they and many others "provided for Him through their substance"  (see Luke 8:1-3).  And we have to ask ourselves where the Church would be, and indeed, even where Christ's ministry would be, if it were not for these women and others like them.  They act on their faith.  They enact love.  They carry within themselves the light not only of His ministry, but of the grace that He brings into the world and asks us to cultivate within ourselves.  Without such faith, what would the world really understand about Christ?  If we can garner nothing more from reading Luke, we can come to understand the central and historical importance of women to this ministry.  There is first of all the woman chosen to be His mother, who accepted her role, and together with her husband Joseph protected, raised, and nurtured Christ -- a complete and total act of faith and love.  These women who are with her form a bond of love and faith as well.  Those who proclaim the word of God do indeed teach us, but then each one of us probably knows another who simply through the actions of faith and love in their lives teach us also about Christ.  Without this support, how do we come to know His love?  Let us remember from this passage that it was they who believed, and who first were told -- while the apostles dismissed their story as "idle tales."  It is the substance of love and faith that gives shape to the Church in all places, in the innermost life of experience, in what is observed and understood by others, in the witness of a life where love and faith is chosen and practiced.  Luke gives us pictures of women:  these at the tomb, Mary the mother of Jesus, the one who anoints Christ with oil, the poor widow who gives all in the temple, Anna the prophetess, the woman who is healed by her faith when she touches the hem of Christ's garment, the stories of His friends Martha and Mary, and so many others.  In Christianity, one does not need to be center stage to be counted, to be essential, to be important.  One needs to be nurtured by the love of God, so that one becomes a kind of hub -- and that love becomes reflected in the choices and encounters of daily life.  Let us remember these women, as they were the first to hear and believe, and to tell the story to the apostles themselves.

To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables

 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

'Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.'

Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and the pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

- Luke 8:1-15

Yesterday we read that one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him.  And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.  Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, "This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you."  So he said, "Teacher, say it."  "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.  One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both.  Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more."  And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."  Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.  You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.  You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.  Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"  Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace."

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  These women noted by Luke were faithful to Christ to the end (23:49, 55).  They were the first to proclaim the news of His Resurrection (24:1-10).  My study bible also reminds us that in the Scriptures, the number seven often symbolizes totality and completeness, indicating here that Mary called Magdalene had been thoroughly given over to darkness before her healing by Christ.  These women did not only support Christ alone, but His entire ministry.

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"   Jesus introduces teaching in parables here at this point in Luke's Gospel.  The parable of the Sower is also the first parable introduced in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20).  The teaching in parables indicates a kind of turning point in Jesus' ministry.  It tells us now that great multitudes are following Him, and that includes those who are not disciples and also who will reject Him.  We have just read about a woman, a notorious sinner, who was forgiven and is clearly devoted to Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  But this level of discipleship also demands a level of faith, or perhaps we should say spiritual hearing, that others will not find.   Parable ask of us to be capable of truly hearing, and reach us on whatever level we can (or cannot) understand.  And they serve to draw us into the Kingdom, to find more, to open up mystery.  The parable of the Sower is, of course, the parable that teaches us about Christ Himself, and His work of the Kingdom in the world, and the seeds He is planting.  he fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 55:10-13.

 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and the pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."   Mysteries are not obscure intellectual concepts, says my study bible, but rather they are the presence of the Kingdom of God which cannot be defined.  A person's unwillingness to understand or receive Christ's parables is due to a rejection of His Kingdom.  St. John Chrysostom comments, "If the blindness were natural, it would have been proper for God to open their eyes; but because it was a voluntary and self-chosen blindness, He does not overthrow their free will."  To do so would not only have been to "no advantage for them, but an even greater condemnation."   My study bible notes also that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment of the profession of faith -- a view not held by the historical the Church -- the teaching of Jesus is clear that it is possible to believe for a while and then fall away.

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."  My study bible emphasizes the teaching in the words here, especially "with patience."  This is no one-time "hallelujah, I'm saved" kind of commitment.  This is something that endures within us, that is not battered away by time or the other concerns of the world.  It dwells within us like a seed planted deep.  We may see its fruit at times, we may not see what seems like anything of progress at all at times.  We may forget it's even within us at other times.  But to hear the word with a noble and good heart, to keep it and bear fruit with patience is to live a life of true faith.  That is a faith that we turn to when we need to make choices and decisions, when we need help, when we need something to rely on.  It is a faith we turn to when we look for direction, and when we look for love.  It is a faith that calls us in the heart.  In it there is a depth of longing.  We note that in Christ's explanation to His disciples there is a list of things about the world that can take away the seed and uproot the word in the heart.  There's the devil that takes away the word before it can take root.  There are temptations.  There are the cares, riches, and pleasures of life.  All of these things are present with us all the time.  The road of faith isn't meant to be one of pure ease.  It is, rather, one in which we face all kinds of obstacles to that faith and in which we may struggle with those obstacles.  Thus, the need for patience.  Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus will speak more to His disciples of the simple need for endurance and watchfulness.  Faith isn't a one-time goal we take care of and then we're done with it.  It is, rather, something that comes to us repeatedly throughout life, asking us to question what we're hearing or thinking or receiving.  It reminds us that there's a way to live in God's love, a way to find what it is we're looking for at the root of identity.  Every moment, we're a new person, and time does not stand still for us in the sense that life goes on to ask of us new things, new questions, present us with changed situations and circumstances.  But that which takes root and grows asks of us to turn back to it through all these things, to do the work of struggle and discernment and bearing fruit with patience, to be that good soil that allows the Kingdom to be harbored and nurtured within us and in our lives, so that we will always be those who have ears to hear.  At each new turn in our lives we may find that the same word gives us new insights, and new fruit, and new choices.  Thus, the mysteries of the Kingdom unfold, expand, invite us further.  This is the work of patience and endurance for all of us.