"Witnesses to the Resurrection"

The Women meet the Risen Savior

As you may know, Matthew’s gospel was written in the late 1^st century to address the early Christian communities who were mostly of Jewish ancestry and traditions.  It was written to establish that Jesus, the Messiah, came to fulfill the Hebrew prophecies.

Unlike Mark, Matthew never bothers to explain Jewish customs, since his intended audience was Jewish.  And unlike Luke’s, who traced Jesus’s ancestry back to Adam, father of the human race, Matthew traces it only to Abraham, father of the Jews.

Then, and sadly even now until our days, early civilizations placed and kept women in a subordinate role.  Remember the widow that had to creep in so to touch Jesus’ garment hoping to be healed?

Given such understanding, one of the most extraordinary facts of all the gospels is that they all credit women as the first witness of the Resurrection.  On the other hand, as one could have been expected, the apostles couldn’t believe them – Who could trust a woman with such important act as the witnessing of our Lord’s Resurrection?  And yet they were.

It is perhaps thinking on such events that years later, in one of his first letters, St Paul told the people of Corinth, “God chose what the world considers nonsense to put the so-called wise to shame.  God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame.  God chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, to destroy what the world thinks is important”, (1 Corinthians 1:27,28). 

(And then, years later, perhaps having forgotten what he wrote earlier, St Paul backtracked with all the non-sense about women using veils, and so forth.  So, it is no surprise that those who ruled the church [men] would rather follow St. Paul’s latter teachings rather than our Lord’s.  And many still keep doing it… Shame on them!)

But going back to the Resurrection’s story, it is “the women” who were chosen to become the earliest evangelists and entrusted with the vital message of our Lord’s Resurrection. 

What would be of us and of the world had the women decided to stay in their kitchens and follow directions?  For the apostles (THE men) were nowhere to be seen, stunned, scared, and hiding under lock and key.  Thanks be to God for the brave Women of the Resurrection!

But there is even more.  When the women met the Risen Lord, they did not run away scared to death, not they organized a proper worship service with as much pageantry as in today’s Christian churches.  No.

The chose to fall dawn to our Lord’s feet as an act of adoration, respect, and worship.  Why?  Because they recognized Jesus as the Risen Savior.

Christ’s Resurrection was not an event meant to prove that He was right after all.  For to be a Resurrection, Jesus had to go through death, and as St Paul says, death on a Cross.  So, our Lord’s Resurrection must be understood as the living proof of His and His Father’s love for us.

It is a love which not only the women understood, but which calls us to follow in their example both as witnesses and redeemed.

Now my friends, as we enter the joy of the Resurrection, let us remember that each one of us has been called to be a witness to the Resurrection.  We have been called to tell what happened not to explain what, why or how it happened.  As witnesses we are only asked to produce “Just the facts”.

In sharing the story of the Resurrection, we will follow in the footsteps of those brave first witnesses.  They were not the great leaders or the mighty.  They were ordinary people chosen for an extraordinary purpose.

We too, together, as the fellowship which is St David’s, we carry on the witness entrusted to our early sisters.

And, like the woman at the garden, we too are called to make Jesus worthy of worship by taking heed to his command to love, to show mercy, to show kindness, and to worship the Lord not only in word but in truth.

Just as the women stepped forward with courage despite skepticism, we, too, are invited to bring the message of hope and renewal into our daily lives.

So as we go forth today, let us remember that the mission field is beyond the doors of our church.  Let us embrace this calling with boldness and gratitude, trusting that our testimony, however simple, can inspire others to seek the truth and joy found in the Resurrection.

As we leave this place, may the God of the Resurrection guide you.  May the Risen Lord be your companion as you journey to our true spiritual home.  And may the Spirit of the Risen Lord help you to remember that even the smallest acts of service and truth can bear witness to the miracle at the heart of our faith.  Amen.

Fr. Gustavo