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

 Now 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. 

- Luke 23:44-56a

On Saturday, we read that were also two others, criminals, led with Jesus to be put to death.  And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."  And they divided His garments and cast lots.  And the people stood looking on.  But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God."  The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself."  And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:  THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

 Now 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.  How is it that the natural elements of the world are affected by the Crucifixion of Christ?  He is the light of the world (John 8:12); at His murder all things are "topsy turvy."  My study bible notes that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of the separation between God and man.  Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for all people, giving people access to that which is the most holy of all, which is God Himself.  In many Orthodox churches, one will see a curtain between the altar and the nave, which is open during liturgical services to emphasize our communion with God -- at one time sealed off from human beings,  now available to all who approach in faith.

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.  Jesus gives us all an example, as on the Cross He is praying; this is a verse from Psalm 31 (verse 5) which we may read carefully in its entirely to understand its significance to this time.   My study bible tells us that Christ does not have His life taken from Him, but rather He will voluntarily commit it to the Father.  In the understanding of the Church, His was the first human soul that was not taken to Hades (the place of the dead); rather it is freely given into the hands of God.  In this way, He frees all of humanity from the power of death.  His death reconciles human beings to God -- not as satisfaction for blood-justice, but because every aspect of our fallen human nature is transformed in Him, even death.  Whatever divinity touches is healed; this is our faith.  Christ becomes human in order to sanctify human nature; as my study bible notes, He takes on our sin in order to free us from sin, He accepts our weakness in order to make us strong, He suffers in order to transfigure suffering, and enters death in order to destroy it (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!"  My study bible quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria, who writes, "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."

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.    To beat their breasts is a formal sign of mourning, an act of grief.  But we note Christ's followers -- and especially Luke mentions the women who followed Him from Galilee.  They stand at a distance and watch, true witnesses, with Him even in death.  They do not participate with this fickle crowd.

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.   My study bible says that if the apostles had buried Christ, then doubters could have claimed that His body was simply hidden away.  Joseph of Arimathea is both a council member and also a good and just man.  His involvement refutes any possibility that deceptive activity had taken place with Christ's body.  My study bible adds that there is as spiritual significance to the tomb where no one had ever lain before.  That is, Christ died a death unlike any person had ever died before.  It is a death without corruption, and a death which leads to victory over death (or the grave) itself.

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.  My study bible notes that Christ's rest in the tomb fulfills the image of His birth in a cave, traditional place in the Near East where animals are kept (see 2:7).  It reveals the ultimate purpose of His coming into the world.  The faith of the women, it says, while stronger than that of the disciples who are in hiding, was still imperfect in that they prepared for the corruption of Christ's body.  But, we note, they continue in their role as ministers to Him (8:1-3).  Preparation is Friday.  The original Sabbath (Saturday) is the day God rested from God's work of creation (Genesis 2:1-3), and so Christ rests from the work of the new creation on the Sabbath.  Therefore, my study bible says, He gives the Sabbath its ultimate meaning and even in death, He fulfills the Law, as do the women. 

Let us note a certain sense of the beauty of the Gospel of Luke.  Luke is the one who also gives us a picture of Christ's birth -- an event of cosmic importance (in fact the central event of cosmic history from the point of view of the Bible), first prepared by angels making announcements not to the world, but to individuals of quiet status in the society, news known only to them (Luke 1).  It is the shepherds living out in the fields to whom the angelic hosts proclaim this event, and Mary who keeps these tidings, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2).  This is a quiet revelation that shakes the reality of all that is, of the birth of the One whose death creates darkness at noon, and rents in two the temple's veil.  So it is in Luke with His death.  There is a sense of quiet over it all:  the women who have faithfully followed from Galilee stand and watch His crucifixion from afar, like silent witnesses who follow His command to "watch."  They have been "ministers to His ministry" and continue to minister to Him in their preparation of His body for burial.  They are obedient unto the Law, and rest on the Sabbath.  In this quiet, the whole of the world is awaiting a new birth from this cave.  At the crucifixion, one man, the centurion, recognizes Christ's righteousness and will later become an early member of the Church.  One thief on the cross confesses and is reconciled to Christ (see Saturday's reading, above).  Joseph of Arimathea, member of the council who did not consent to Christ's death, a good and just man -- and obviously a man of wealth -- privately goes to Pilate and requests Jesus' body, having quietly prepared with great care a new tomb.  There is a humble quality to the verses in which we're told he wrapped Christ's body in new linen and laid it in the tomb.   Of the apostles we read nothing.  They are scattered and in hiding.   These acts of cosmic importance do not come with great fanfare, and their very silence is a beauty given to us in Luke's Gospel.  It teaches us of the centrality of our own faith, which so often comes as a mere whisper in the heart, a prayer in silence, in our own room with our Father in the secret place who sees in secret (Matthew 6:6).  Contrary to the blockbuster films that ever seek to make up for lack of meaning through increasing explosions, special effects, and grittier violence, the actual blood and grit of crucifixion is absent here.   Christ's suffering, in fact, has as much or more to do with the cruelty and spiritual blindness of those who mock than anything else.  This is a book written by those who know full well the violence of the world, its gore, its illnesses, its physical suffering (and after all, St. Luke was himself a physician).  It is a book which tells us the importance of this story in the women who watch from a distance, who remain obedient to the Law, and the greatness of One who loved us so that He died for us and will change the entire order of the cosmos in so doing.   By contrast, it is the fickle crowds who clamored for His death and now beat their breasts.  This is a book for the faithful, who accept the world matter-of-factly on its terms, and yet retain a faith through all things, keeping in mind what is truly important and essential.  That is, that this crucifixion, one among countless in the Roman Empire, is of our Savior, the Lord of all, the One for whom we seek to live each moment and follow by taking up our own crosses.  His story is not yet finished and not yet complete, for it is the Resurrection that transforms all of this, everything, anything that came before and all things afterward.  It is the Resurrection that enters us into the end time, the sureness of His Return, and the way in which we also watchfully live our lives.  Let us prepare, as do the women, and understand the true place in which we take our rest, even through all things, and remember why. 

"After three days I will rise"

 And 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.

- Matthew 27:55-66

Yesterday, we read that from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!"  Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.  The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him."  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.  So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

 And 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.  My study bible says here that most Fathers teach that Mary the mother of James and Joses was the Virgin Mary, being in fact the stepmother of James and Joses (see 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).  It notes that Theophylact summarizes the teaching of the Fathers to say that  James and Joses were sons of Joseph by his first wife.  Since Mary was called the "wife" of Joseph, she is rightly called the "mother" of his children, meaning "stepmother."

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.   My study bible says, "To ask for the body of Jesus is a bold public act for this wealthy man, showing that his faith has overcome any fear."  Ancient commentators remark on the bravery of all of these people:  Joseph of Arimathea was known as a member of the council, a wealthy man with much to lose - and here he risks death to show support for Jesus, as do the women who are present.  There is already a depth of love for Jesus shown here that is to remark upon, and very great courage.

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.  My study bible says that Jesus is buried in a new tomb so that no suspicion might later arise that another had risen instead of Christ.  St. John Chrysostom comments that the courage of these women is a model for all men to attempt to measure up to.

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.  Ironically, this statement, that He will rise on the third day, constitutes the very meaning of Jesus' words these people have twisted in order to condemn Him to death (see John 2:19).

So, the stage is set for what will come next.  It's remarkable that the religious authorities seek to take precautions against Jesus' rising on the third day, given that in their deliberations it was the false witnesses who twisted Jesus' teaching about His Resurrection in order to condemn Him to death.  It's like the whole world is watching, breathing, waiting -- like those women who sit opposite the tomb.  By tradition, these women, (in particular Mary Magdalene) are called "Equal to the Apostles" and we will see why.   They are also known as "the Holy Myrrbearers."   But for now these women sit and wait with Him outside of a new tomb.  They are the friends of the Bridegroom, who wait outside this new, "pristine" chamber as His body is wrapped in clean linen.  For many ancient commentators, this new tomb, also, is symbolic of the baby Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  In some ways there is a parallel here with Eastern icons of the Nativity, where Jesus is born in a manger which has always been understood as being in a cave where the animals were kept, a typical practice of the region.  The clean linen shroud would then appear to imitate the swaddling clothes in which the infant Jesus was wrapped.  The linen, perhaps most powerfully of all, is viewed as the linen in the vision in which Peter saw all animals given to him from heaven, made clean by the power of God.  Thus, the shroud, the tomb, this death -- is all made clean by the touch of Christ.  We are, in fact, awaiting a birth -- one which will open faith to the Gentile heart, for the whole world.    Hilary of Poitiers comments:  "It is perhaps not too extravagant to understand from this parallel that the church is buried with Christ under the name of the linen shroud. Just as in the linen, so also in the confession of the church are gathered the full diversity of living beings, both pure and impure. The body of the Lord, therefore, through the teaching of the apostles, is laid to rest in the empty tomb newly cut from a rock. In other words, their teaching introduced Christ into the hardness of the Gentile heart, which was uncut, empty and previously impervious to the fear of God. And because he is the only one who should penetrate our hearts, a stone was rolled over the entrance to the tomb, so that just as no one previous to him had been introduced as the author of divine knowledge, neither would anyone be brought in after him." (ON MATTHEW 33.8).   This tomb is also seen as a symbol of our "burial" with Christ in baptism, to be risen with Him as well.  For now we await a rebirth, a glorious opening of the tomb.

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus

 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.

Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead, and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where He was laid.

- Mark 15:40-47

On Saturday, we read that when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!"  Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."  And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.  Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" 

There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.   Over and over again, the Gospels will remind us of the variety of those who followed and ministered to Jesus, who helped Him in His ministry and supported Him.  Many of those who traveled with Him -- and here we can see, who remained with Him to the end -- were women.  These women are those who have been healed and helped by Him as well as relatives of those who are among His disciples.  Several of these women are titled "Apostle to the Apostles" or "Equal to Apostles" in the Eastern Church.  There is no one left out of Jesus' ministry and His spiritual family.

Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  My study bible says here:  "Not all members of the Sanhedrin are opposed to Jesus.  Joseph of Arimathea is an exception, as is Nicodemus (John 3:1-4; 7:50; 19:39).   Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God, sympathetic to the message of Jesus.  According to tradition, Joseph went on to evangelize the British Isles."

Pilate marveled that He was already dead, and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.   My study bible tells us that Pilate marveled because crucified men usually lived for many hours, or even days, after being hung on the cross.

So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph observed where He was laid.  My study bible explains, "According to custom, tombs were carved out of soft rock in a cavelike fashion, sometimes with several chambers.  Then a flat, circular stone was rolled into a prepared groove to shut the opening."  It also points out that in the Eastern liturgy (of St. John Chrysostom), after the gifts of bread and wine are placed on the altar for sanctification, the priest proclaims of the crucified Jesus:  "In the grave with Your body, but in hell with Your soul as God, in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with Your Father and the Spirit, O Christ You are uncontained."  In the Eastern tradition, Christ's soul descended before His Resurrection, so that all  who ever passed are included in His grace.

From the moment of His death in crucifixion (see Saturday's reading) the Gospel introduces us to the characters surrounding His ministry, the people who populate the stories of the Church that surround the events of His death and Resurrection.  On Saturday we read about the centurion, who proclaimed, "Truly this Man was the Son of God."  By church tradition, we know him as Longinus, who went on to become a martyr for the early church.  Here in today's reading we have more people who make up these early characters in His ongoing ministry, after His death.  There are first the women who have ministered throughout His time in Galilee (those who will play a role in the Resurrection story), and then Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent and courageous member of the Sanhedrin.  In the immediate aftermath of Christ's death, therefore, we have unlikely-seeming characters who popular this ministry and this faith.  There is first of all the Roman centurion who is the leader of the guard at the crucifixion (and by tradition is also the leader of the guard placed by Pilate at His tomb), secondly the women who continue to minister to Him even at His death, and there is Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Council that sought, in the first place, to put Him to death.  These are all unlikely members -- and heroic ones -- of these stories in the Gospels.  And without them, there would, essentially, be no story.  Each one is integral to our faith and what we understand of our faith.  Somehow by his proximity to Jesus on the Cross, the centurion becomes a faithful believer and saint.  The women in their faithfulness will minister to Him even after death, as we shall see in the readings that follow.  And a powerful man among the Jewish leadership, Joseph of Arimathea, not only provides a new tomb hewed of rock for Jesus but boldly goes to Pilate and asks for His body, and provides for His burial with fine linen, as if he were caring for his own burial.  No, each of the somehow unlikely characters is a pillar of our faith, a pillar of our Church, and we should not forget what the Gospels tell us:  that we cannot tell where faith will come from, where it will manifest, how it will work, and which character or which person will fulfill one role or another.  The Gospels are careful to let us know that we never know where faith will come from, we cannot generalize about any people, any group of people, any gender, or any history of a person in judging where and in whom faith will come.  In John's Gospel, Jesus explains to Nicodemus, another member of the Sanhedrin, when He tells Him of being reborn in the Spirit:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  We cannot tell, we do not know.  All we can do is accept the work of the holy, the work of God, the Spirit in our world.  It is the Spirit -- and active faith --that truly forms family in the context of Jesus' teaching.  It is active faith that denotes neighbor.  And it is active faith that tells us who He will have with Him.  It is not for us to judge who will fulfill these roles by any outward appearance, but it is up to us to discern His will, to follow His commandments, honor the work of the Spirit in the world wherever -- and in whomever -- it will be found.  Let us remember these early beginnings of His Church, these who minister to Him Who ministers to all of us.