So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard

 

 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 (noon) 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 that most patristic commentary teaches that Mary the mother of James and Joses is the Virgin Mary, as she was in fact the stepmother of James and Joses (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47).  It notes that Theophylact summarizes in this way:  "James and Joses were sons of Joseph by his first wife.  And since the Theotokos 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.  Joseph of Arimathea commits a bold public act; to ask for the body of Jesus is a sign of deep faith for a wealthy man.  My study Bible says it shows that his faith has overcome any fear.

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 notes that Christ is buried in a new tomb so that no suspicion might later arise that another had risen instead of Christ.  

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.  While the chief priests and Pharisees act to prevent what they suspect on the part of Christ's disciples, this action effectively secures the understanding that the witness reports of what is to come are authentic and true.

 

The chief priests and Pharisees suspect that Christ's disciples might steal His body from this new tomb (that is, one in which no one else has been buried), so they may falsely claim His Resurrection later.   But let us take note how God uses circumstances to achieve God's purposes.  Effectively their actions demanded in false suspicion only help to seal the veracity of the witnesses to come.  First, it is a new tomb and therefore only one body is placed there, that of Christ.  Second, it's quite interesting that the chief priests and Pharisees are apparently aware of Christ's prophecy that He would rise again, that they have understood what Christ meant by the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:38-39; 16:1-4).  This is quite a contrast to the deliberate machinations around Christ's prophecy of the same when He spoke of His body as a temple (Matthew 26:61; John 2:19).   It exposes their disingenuous behavior, that they knowingly have done what they've done.  The other thing to note about today's text is the importance of the women, right from the beginning, in Christ's followers.  Without their witness, we would not have the understanding that we do.  They are the ones out and about, doing the necessary things for Christ's burial, keeping watch and keeping witness.  Joseph of Arimathea -- who is honored today in the Episcopal Church -- is also a member of the Council (see Mark 15:43), and therefore extremely courageous.  What we find in this account is telling us that, immediately upon Christ's death, not only do all kinds of signs and wonders occur in Jerusalem (see yesterday's reading, above), but also the courage of even what we might call Christ's "least likely" followers comes to the fore for all to see.  While the disciples are scattered (Matthew 26:56) and in hiding, these come out and do what is necessary for Him, even acting with a kind of courage that could lose them their lives and status in the society.  What we find is that, even before the knowledge of the Resurrection, Christ's death is already producing fruit, from the centurion and his guards who proclaimed "Truly this is the Son of God!" to these women and the prominent and wealthy member of the Council Joseph of Arimathea.  Without the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, without the order to seal the stone and set the guard, without these women, we wouldn't have the story we know.  It all affirms that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  Let us keep this in mind through our own struggles, setbacks, and hardships -- for Christ's sacrifice and the power of Resurrection still brings forth fruit, even where we may least expect it.

 

 

 

 

Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward

 

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

 

- John 13:36-38 

 

In our previous reading (John 12:27-36), Jesus was preparing for His journey to the Cross, His hour of glorification.  He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."  In today's reading, the lectionary skips ahead, to the end of chapter 13.  Jesus and the disciples are at the Last Supper, and this conversation takes place just prior to His last address to His disciples.  My study Bible comments on this passage that Jesus' first words to Simon Peter ("Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward") are in fact a prophecy of his martyrdom.  St. Peter would suffer martyrdom for the sake of Christ by being crucified upside down in Rome in about AD 67 (see John 21:18-19).  

In today's short reading, at first glance we might think that the focus is on Peter's denial.  But my study Bible places the emphasis on Christ's prophecy of Peter's martyrdom which is to come, Peter's own great sacrifice for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 17:33; John 12:25).  If we take a look at some of the other passages which accompany this one in today's lectionary reading, we see a common theme of sacrifice.  The Old Testament reading is from Genesis 22:1-14, the story of Abraham's being called to sacrifice his son Isaac.  This story seems to many people to be cruel; they wonder why God would call Abraham to do such a thing, even if God did not intend for this to happen.  After all, Israel lived side-by-side with hostile neighboring peoples whose gods demanded such things.  But if we look closely at the story, it is not a story of a god demanding cruelties in order to be pleased, but a story even about God's provision, of unexpected abundance.  It is a story of trust in God, and yes, sacrifice in the sense that Abraham reserves nothing in his love for and obedience to God.  But in the end, seeing a ram caught in a thicket, Abraham names the place The-Lord-Will-Provide.  This is a story of absolute trust in God, even in the most difficult of circumstances, the sacrifice of what we love.  It's echoed in Christ's prophecy of Peter's own martyrdom, a trust that entrusts everything to God's providence, even one's own life.  The other Gospel reading from John gives us a different kind of a sacrifice.  John 19:38-42 tells us the story of two wealthy and powerful men of Jerusalem, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.  Both of them were members of the ruling council.  Nicodemus we know was a Pharisee (John 3:1).  Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man (Matthew 27:57), and also a prominent ruler on the Council (Mark 15:43).  Joseph, in going to Pilate to ask for Christ's body, was making a very courageous and bold choice, and risking everything in his life to do so, for as a member of the Council which pressured Pilate to put Jesus to death, he is defying them and their conclusions about Jesus.  After all, Jesus as a crucified Man is in some sense declared among the worst of criminals according to the Roman laws of punishment.  In this sense, He "became sin" for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), taking on this mantle of public shame and condemnation that went with crucifixion.  Joseph moreover donates a new (and quite expensive) and unused tomb hewn in stone (suggesting it was his own tomb; see Matthew 27:60), while Nicodemus donates the expensive myrrh and aloes for burial, a public act of love for Christ.  Both of these men risk their lives, their substance, and their places in the society to do so.  My study Bible says that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem. St. John Chrysostom has suggested that Joseph of Arimathea was among the Seventy noted in Luke's Gospel (Luke 10:1-17).  At any rate as believers in the early Church, there is no doubt of what persecution and loss they faced.  When we look at each of these sacrifices -- the apostleship and martyrdom of St. Peter, the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the public donations and declaration of devotion to Christ by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, what we see are various forms of "investment" that comes with entrusting one's life and devotion to God, and all the things that are a part of one's life and oneself.  None of these men knew necessarily what the future held, but their whole trust was in God, in Christ -- Abraham, the first to know the promise; Peter the wavering disciple who would become leader and martyr; and the prominent men of the Council, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Each one made choices for a willing sacrifice, an exchange for something more powerful, more essential, a deeper entrusting to God and to God's provision, whether in their own lives or in the greater story of the salvation of the world (John 3:16).  Jesus, of course, goes to the Cross, showing us all what it means to sacrifice for love.  We are now concluding the period of Lent (next week for the Orthodox), a traditional time of the practice of sacrifice, of fasting.  Let us consider these passages and what it means to learn to make choices based on discernment, to sacrifice or give something up because we are essentially investing in something better, greater, that commands a deeper and greater love and loyalty.  This is the substance of what it means to choose, especially when we come to a crossroads.  A marriage is similar; there will be sacrifices we're called to make for the sake of a marriage, or of a child, or an elderly parent.   There will be times when an investment in where God leads us becomes the risk we take, the worthy sacrifice for something more beautiful, more good, more true than whatever other appetites or desires would call for.  This is why we learn discipleship, so that we may become the "sons of light" Jesus names in yesterday's reading, above.  Let us walk in His light, even when it is difficult and there are hard choices to make, for we know the road and the Kingdom it leads to. 

And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar

 

 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, when Jesus was crucified, 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.  The Gospel gives us a partial picture of what takes place at Christ's crucifixion, and the witnesses there who've ministered to Him since His ministry in Galilee.  My study Bible comments that Mary the mother of James and Joses is seen by most patristic writers as the Virgin Mary, as she was in fact the stepmother of James and Joses (see Matthew 13:55, compare Mark 15:40, 47).  Theophylact summarizes the teaching of the Church Fathers thus:  "James and Joses were sons of Joseph by his first wife.  And since the Theotokos was called the 'wife' of Joseph, she is rightly called the 'mother' of his children, meaning 'stepmother'."  It is notable, also, that it is the women who remain faithful witnesses here, while the male disciples fled and remain hidden.  It is considered a sign of the divine order restored to a fallen world, in which a woman companion led a man to sin (Genesis 2:18, 3:6). 

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.  My study Bible comments that to ask for the body of Jesus is a bold public act for this wealthy man, showing that his faith has overcome any fear.  Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Council (see Mark 15:43, Luke 23:50-54), and together with Nicodemus, his action in the Gospels tells us that there were members of the ruling religious parties who did not side with the decisions of the authorities and were followers of Jesus.  My study Bible also comments that Christ is buried in a new tomb so that no suspicion might later arise that another had risen instead of Christ.  

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.  The stage is set for what is to come.  There will be no doubt about what the women will witness.

The women wait and watch, looking on from afar, witnesses to all that has taken place.   They have been with Jesus since His ministry in Galilee, and have followed Him all the way to the Cross.  We get the image of a silent group, watching perhaps on a hill, waiting and staying with Him in their own way, faithful to the end.  It is these women who will be the ones to witness the almost unbelievable news that will follow at the tomb.  But for now, let us watch them, silent as they witness and observe.  What they have is their faith, and one imagines that this is what they hold fast to, what they cling to within themselves.  When there is nothing else to do or to say, this is what we can do:  we can witness and we can cling to our faith -- and that is still doing what we can do.  These women serve as an example today, because they teach us about what to do when it seems like there is nothing we can do.  It is Jesus who has repeatedly warned the disciples that the time is approaching when the best they can do is "watch and pray."  When we enter into times -- as most certainly is this time recorded for us in the Gospel -- in which all seems upside down, unstable, the unthinkable happens, times of great confusion, then it is time for us to consider what these women do.  They do not desert Christ, they do not desert their faith, but they do as they can do.  They watch and they pray and they witness.  They do not flee and do not panic.  They wait on the Lord and they wait in this time, as silent witnesses.  In contrast to the men, they keep their heads and their hearts in place, and do the one thing they can do.  They watch and wait, and witness.  There is a poem by Rudyard Kipling called "If--" (found at this link).  It used to be an oft-quoted poem, and is ostensibly about what it is to become a man.  It begins, "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs . . ."  It seems to me that it is these women who exemplify in the Gospels what it means to "be a man" as described in the poem by Kipling.  They set us an example.  By their forbearance and tenacity they will become the ones who first witness what the men cannot, the ones to whom Christ first appears.  And notably, as my study Bible reminded us, in the story of Jesus Christ they are the ones who turn the story of the Fall upon its head.  They are the steadfast ones who resist temptation and struggle through this terrible time of testing, and they are the ones upon whose shoulders the rest of us will stand when the story of Christ is repeated and Resurrection proclaimed.  There are times in our lives when there is nothing that we can do but wait and watch.   In a modern world, this type of thinking seems sadly out of step with the endless encouragements to "be the change you want to see" or to be on board with a new slogan making the rounds.  But the Gospels, in their wisdom, remind us that there are times when we can but watch and pray, and the best we can do is witness and continue practicing the things we know are good while we await a new juncture, a new sense of where we are and what we need to do.  Forbearance and patience become assets and virtues, filled with meaning, at the Cross.  For there we find ourselves, even when the world would proclaim that the only thing that matters is decisive action and effort.  The power to bear pain properly, to endure, is something understood perhaps only with experience.  Wisdom teaches us at times that patience takes effort, and so does quiet strength, even silent witness of the time.

 

 

 

 

 

And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar

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 (or noon) 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 notes here that most Patristic writers teach that Mary the mother of James and Joses is the Virgin Mary.  She was in fact the stepmother of James and Joses (see 13:55; compare to Mark 15:40, 47).   My study bible quotes from Theophylact, who summarizes the teaching in this way:  "James and Joses were sons of Joseph by his first wife.  And since the Theotokos [in Greek, "God-bearer," title of the Virgin 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.  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.  That Joseph of Arimathea would ask for the body of Jesus is a bold public act.  He is a wealthy man, a member of the Sanhedrin.  He has everything to lose by openly asking for the body of Christ.  My study bible says that this shows that Joseph's faith has overcome any fear.  It notes also that Jesus is buried in a new tomb, so that no suspicion might later arise that another had risen instead of Christ. 

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.  Let us make note of how each act committed in hostility to Christ and His ministry becomes one more plank in the building of the stage for Resurrection.  In effect, the chief priests and Pharisees sealing the stone and setting the guard will only serve to more greatly affirm what is going to happen.

It is the women sitting by the tomb, and standing afar off and watching Christ being crucified, that really grab our attention, so to speak, in today's reading.  This is ironic, as the last thing these women are doing is seeking attention.  We don't hear them speak or cry out.  They don't stand close to the crucifixion of Christ so that they are noticed, or even that the text would tell us they weep and wail.  On the contrary, they seem to be standing almost silently, stoically by, accepting what has happened, bearing witness, being there.  Even when the men, Christ's disciples, have fled, these women stand there.  They are there bearing witness to Him, still supporting Him, their souls are with Him.  They will not leave Him.  So the women stand steadfast, and their silent witness to the Cross from afar, and their silent seating keeping watch opposite the tomb tell us something.  It reminds us that we who pray, who can do nothing more to change or help a situation, still remain loyal in love and in truth.  They remain close to Christ, even as His disciples are scattered (26:31).   These are the women who have supported His ministry all along (Luke 8:1-3, 23:55).  They have followed Him from Galilee, and provided for the ministry.  In John Milton's Sonnet 19, the last line is quite famous, and it reads:  "They also serve who only stand and wait."   The poem is ostensibly about his personal blindness and its effect upon his ability to work and to serve God through his work, but that last line tells us a deeper and wider truth.  These women might not have vivid stories of compelling action written about them detailing their work in the kingdom as would the apostles in their travels.  They do not have bold and astonishing testimonies such as crossing the sea in a terrifying storm, or bravely preaching in the face of enemies.  But nevertheless the Gospels testify that they remain even when the rest are nowhere to be found.  Their strength is in their steadfastness, their courage in their closeness and refusal to flee and in their willingness to remain beside the crucified Christ, to stand and wait.  They are ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done out of the love and loyalty and courage of their hearts, and so they remain as witnesses.  They will not desert Him, giving in to fear as did the disciples.  They remain and watch.  They who serve and "only stand and wait" will become the first witnesses to the greatest event of history, the pivotal news that will change everything for everybody.  In their steadfast love -- together with Joseph of Arimathea -- they remain in the place where they will become Apostles to the Apostles and bear the news of Resurrection.  It tells us what it means simply to be in the place where we are taught to be, even to stand and wait, so long as we serve -- and what an extraordinarily powerful thing that can be, if only we listen and watch in our faith.   It is very like the power of prayer, a help that is perhaps most profound in silence, but which should never be underestimated in its service and strength.

Father, "into Your hands I commit My spirit"

 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.  They they returned and 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.    The Gospel makes us take note o the strange natural phenomena accompanying this moment.  The darkness over the earth from the sixth to the ninth hour occurs between noon and three o'clock in the afternoon.   My study bible says that the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple was a symbol of separation between God and man.  Christ's death opens the way into the presence of God for everyone, giving people access to that which is the most holy of all  -- which is God Himself.  In many of the Eastern Churches, there is a curtain between the altar and the nave which is opened during liturgical services; this is directly to emphasize the opening of communion with God which was at one time sealed off from humanity.  Now it is available to all who approach in faith.  Jesus' sacrifice is for saving, opening us deeper to communion with God.

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.   Righteous to the "last," Jesus is praying:  this is from Psalm 31:5.  My study bible tells us that He doesn't have His life taken from Him, but will voluntarily commit it to the Father.  It says, "His was the first human soul not to be taken to Hades; instead it was freely given into the hands of God."  Thus, Christ frees all of humanity from death's grip.   His death reconciles human beings with God, not by satisfying a need for blood-justice but rather by causing every aspect of our corrupt nature to be transformed:  whatever divinity touches is healed.  Christ accepts human nature in order to sanctify it.  He accepts our weakness in order to make us strong, He takes on our sin in order to free us from sin, and He suffers in order to transfigure our suffering.  He even enters death in order to destroy it (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).   His death is not about "punishment" -- it is part of His mission of salvation and transformation, transcendence for all of us.  The evil done to Christ is what is defeated in this world and for this world.  By this voluntary death, Christ defeats death and leads the way for all of us.

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.    My study bible points out a reflection on the conversion of this centurion (also known as St. Longinus), St. Cyril of Alexandria notes:  "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."  

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 suggests that had the apostles buried Christ, doubters could have claimed that His body was simply hidden away somewhere.  Since Joseph of Arimathea was a council member and also known as a good and just man, this refutes the possibility of deception.  It says that the spiritual significance of a tomb where no one had ever lain before is that Christ died a death unlike anyone who had ever died:  this is a death without corruption, and one leading to victory over 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.  They they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.  And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.   My study bible says that the rest in the tomb fulfills the image of Jesus' birth in a cave (the traditional place animals were kept in the time and place of Jesus' birth, and therefore a manger) -- and hence it reveals the ultimate purpose of His coming into the world on His saving mission.  The faith of these women -- stronger than that of the disciples who were in hiding -- was still imperfect in that they prepared for the corruption of Christ's body.   Of the day of the Sabbath, my study bible notes that God rested from His work of creation on the original Sabbath (Genesis 2:1-3), so now Christ rests fro the work of the new creation on the Sabbath.  Therefore He gives the Sabbath an ultimate meaning and also fulfills the Law even in His death.   In Eastern Orthodox tradition, on Holy Saturday a hymn is sung, saying, "This is the most blessed Sabbath on which Christ sleeps in order to rise on the third day."

One thing we note about today's reading is, of course, the devotion of the women.  They are the ones who have followed Him from Galilee, as the text tells us.  They are the ones who have been with Him throughout His ministry.  They will become known as "apostles to the apostles" for reasons we shall read later on in Luke's Gospel, but I think we could also call them "ministers to the Minister."  They have helped with Christ's ministry by "ministering" out of their own resources.  And, we note, they continue to do so now.   The disciples, even the Twelve, are hiding.  But these women do what they know to do.  And it is a great teaching, to my way of thinking, on how we handle crises.  They are going about the business that is their business:  they are ministering, taking care of what needs to be taken care of, following the things they know to be correct, the things they must do.  They "minister" to Christ in His death, first observing the tomb for Him, and then preparing His body for burial.  And, following the Law, they devotedly rest on the Sabbath day.  And they will wait upon the Lord.  Because this is the way we know what we are about even when everything seems to be collapsing around us, even when we are in that place where we don't know yet what our lives will be and what we must now think and see for the future.  We do what we know to do that is good, and we wait upon God.  Joseph of Arimathea sets another courageous and heroic example:  it is not at all in line with the rest of the Council and the powers who have put Jesus to death to go publicly and volunteer this tomb for Christ, to go to Pilate openly and ask for Jesus' body.  But he too, is "waiting for the kingdom of God" and is a righteous man.  What we can also observe in the actions of these faithful people are the greatest commandments at work:  love of God and love of neighbor.  They are not lost in ideological or philosophical wandering, they are caring for the One whom they love and know to be righteous and just, their Lord in faith.  They are following the true commandments which we can rely on, they do what they know to do -- and the rest they leave to faith and to the future, to the ways God will reveal and the Church, when it gathers, will come to find.   Life often, it seems to me, puts us in this kind of a place, where we don't know what we will do next.  Often, it seems a great evil strikes to put us into a kind of panic and terror, something we cannot conceive and haven't dared to think about may be done.  Life may place us there -- and particularly test our faith.  These women show us the great example.  They do what they must do, and they act from love, from what we have been taught:  love of God and love of neighbor.  In the end, we must hang onto this vision of life as one of love and relationship, especially in a crisis.  That goes especially for the times we know not what we will do or what the future will bring, the times when everything seems to have fallen apart.  Let us remember what we cling to, what gives us strength, what He's taught us.  It's not ideology that save, but love.  His love shows us the way!  Their devotion shows us what true strength really is, especially when we just don't know the way forward or what the future brings.  There are times when we have to live with the discomfort of what seem to be overwhelming contradictions.  How can our Lord be put to death?  This is the great question that frames the "stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles."  Our faith calls us to do what we know, and to live with mystery we don't yet know, answers we don't yet have.  This is also the stuff of patience, forbearance, humility, but  also kindness, love, even joy and peace (yes, in serving their Lord), goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Their example is a great one for each of us.