Word to the Wise
Monday, April 6, 2015 - Octave of Easter - Mon
[Acts 2:14, 22-33 and Matt 28:8-15,887]"Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." [Matthew]
Mary Magdalen "and the other Mary" are described as "fearful yet overjoyed" as they run to announce the news of the resurrection to the other disciples. We should be careful of ascribing full-blown theology of the resurrection to them. They have simply been told the good news by an angel of light who rolls back the stone and sits on it! What would anyone think after that experience! Perhaps their encounter with Jesus on the way to tell the disciples is meant to calm them down! Both Jesus and the angel tell them, "Do not be afraid!" We will hear that refrain often in the post-resurrection stories.
Each day during this week, we will read one of the gospel accounts of the resurrection and the reaction of the disciples. Matthew and Mark get one day each - Monday and Saturday. Luke and John get two days. Matthew treats us to the story about the guards at the tomb being bribed to tell a lie. Each of the other gospels will add to the story so that we begin to get a big picture of how the Christian community preached the resurrection (filled out by passages from the Acts of the Apostles, which is by Luke). I urge the Beloved Congregation to think about and compare these accounts in order to get your own "big picture." (Don't miss the detail about Mary Magdalen being the first preacher!) Share your insights with others. As Jesus and the angel tell us: "Do not be afraid!" Christ is risen! Alleluia! AMEN