Unbelievable
Perhaps to our minds the idea that someone could actually rise from the dead does not seem as far-fetched as it probably did on that day when the women came to the disciples with the news. Even though they had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead – an event that certainly was without precedent – the question would still have been how could the one who raised another from the dead be able to raise himself?
The disciples may have not known what caused the death of Lazarus but certainly they had not seen him beaten or scourged or hung on a cross to suffer. The death of Lazarus was probably caused by something with which the people were familiar. Yes, it was a miracle that he was raised and that there was no odour as the body had been entombed for 4 days; but the death of Jesus was nothing like that. It was the result of a whipping, a beating, piercing of his hands and feet with nails and the wound of a spear through his side. There was no possible way that anyone could even begin to imagine that a body could survive such punishment and be alive. Even those who came to take the body for burial could attest that there was no life in the body.
But when the women went to the tomb to anoint the body with spices – as was the custom – they found the stone rolled away and the body missing. Luke records that they were perplexed! That’s a subtle way of putting it. We can only begin to imagine all the scenarios that were running through their minds. Even though Jesus had spoken of rising from the dead, the real possibility of it probably never entered their heads. Suddenly they find what is described as two men in dazzling apparel standing beside them. Whether or not they recognized them as angels, their appearance unnerved the women. Their natural reaction was to bow their faces to the ground – no doubt from a sense of fear and in hope that the men would be merciful to them. After all, Jesus had been a source of trouble to the authorities and the women would no doubt have wondered if these were there to arrest any of Jesus’ followers who would seek to make the resurrection a reality by taking the body themselves.
But the fears of the women are allayed when they come to realize that the men are angels sent from God to give to them the message that Jesus is alive. These messengers of God knew that the women would come to fulfil the customs of Jewish burial. They knew that they needed to be there to give the women the good news. They remind them of the words of Jesus while he was still in Galilee. And even though the whole thing seems impossible and incredible, they believe the men as they remember the words of Jesus and realize that they have come true.
The women never see Jesus in Luke’s account but the messengers who confirmed Jesus’ words are proof enough for the women. They do not when or how they will find Jesus again but now they know for certain that they will no longer find him in the place of the dead but in the place of the living.
And yet as much as these women had been with the disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry and had even stayed with Jesus long after most of the disciples had left out of fear, the message which they bring is not believed. In the words of Luke, their account is dismissed as an idle tale!
It is significant that in every account of the passion of Christ, it is the women who are the first ones to visit the tomb. It is the women who report to the men that Jesus is raised from the dead. In John’s gospel is recorded the most loving and personal encounter of the women for there the sorrow of Mary is met by the presence of Jesus himself – a presence revealed to Mary before even the closest of Jesus’ first disciples.
Returning to Luke’s gospel, the account that follows the reading today is what is known as the Walk to Emmaus. Two disciples are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus when they are joined by what appears to be a stranger. He joins their conversation as they discuss the events of the last week. Appearing at first to be ignorant of what has transpired, the stranger begins to interpret the Scriptures to them which point to the chain of events that occurred but also points to the truth of the women’s so-called idle tale. They invite him to join them in a meal. When he breaks the bread, their eyes are opened. Immediately he disappears from their sight. The experience leads them to depart again for Jerusalem despite the lateness of the day and they go to find the disciples. They confirm the words of the women and at that moment Jesus appears among them and confirms by eating a piece of fish that what they see is no unearthly spirit but indeed a person alive in body, mind and spirit.
In Christ the last barrier between humanity and God has been broken. The place of the dead is no longer the end of our relationship and life with God. Even though we die, yet shall we live; and the life we shall live will be one that encompasses us as fully human – body, mind and soul. The mystery of all this may be beyond our imagining but we can imagine it because those who witnessed it have given us their testimony as an assurance that these things happened.
Unbelievable – for sure! Unimaginable – no doubt! Possible – definitely! One translation of the Scriptures puts it this way:
Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1 – The Complete Jewish Bible, tr. by David H. Stern).
AMEN