Seeing is Believing - April 22
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 136; PM Psalm 118; Exod. 13:1-2,11-16; 1 Cor. 15:51-58; Luke 24:1-12
Today’s Reflection
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. –Luke 24: 6-12
A friend shared an editorial cartoon on social media this Easter week, and maybe you’ve seen it, too. In the single frame, on the left are three women, wearing long tunics and head coverings, and then a few feet away, facing them, is a crowd of men, also wearing long tunics but with beards instead of head scarves. And underneath this scene is this caption: “So ladies, thanks for being the first to witness and report the resurrection and we’ll take it from here.” Sounds close to what we read today in Luke’s account of what happens when the women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and others who were with them—came to the tomb to embalm Jesus’ body early on that third day after Jesus’ death on the cross.
These women, “who had come with Jesus from Galilee,” were in Jesus’ inner circle. They had come to carry out this final act of love for their dearly loved friend, to embalm his body for the tomb by lovingly applying the spices they had prepared for just this sacred purpose. But when they arrived, still so consumed by the freshness of their grief, they were shocked to find that Jesus’ body was not there. How could this be? Instead, they found the stone was rolled away, rather than sealing the entrance as they had expected. The women walked into the tomb, finding not the dead body of Jesus but rather were greeted by these two men in dazzling white (often understood to be angels). These two messengers remind the women, confused and afraid, of what they already knew but had forgotten in all the tragic circumstances of the preceding days: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”
The women then left the tomb to share this shockingly Good News to the other apostles—the men. Men who were probably still sleeping in those early morning hours—and possibly were in hiding, in the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion a few days before. What was their response? To say that what the women were sharing seemed merely “an idle tale.” Not believable.
Except to Peter, who “got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.” Peter believed that what the women shared was possible. Not an idle tale. Peter wanted to believe. But Peter also needed to see for himself. Peter needed to have his own experience of the risen Jesus—and when he experienced it himself, like the women, Peter, too, was amazed.
This Sunday we will read of another disciple, Thomas, who needed to see and feel evidence of the resurrected Jesus for himself. Over the centuries, Thomas has been looked down upon, called the doubting disciple. Each of us needs to have our own direct, personal experience of Jesus and the power of his resurrection for those who believe. The witness of the women, of how they came to know of Jesus’ resurrection is important—like them, we need to share what we have seen so that others will, like Peter, get up and run out to experience it for themselves. Needing to experience the powerful story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for ourselves—to see with our own eyes, hear with our own ears, touch with our own hands, sense it with our own hearts—is nothing to be looked down upon. Needing evidence and direct experience doesn’t make us doubters—it just means that we want to believe.
Becky+
Questions for Reflection
Recall a time when you wanted to see something for yourself, or to hear something directly from the source. How did experiencing this with your own senses change your belief? Did it make you more likely to share what you saw or heard with others?
Daily Challenge
Read today’s account from Luke 24 alongside the Easter Sunday account from John 20. What do we gain by having both these accounts of first encounters with the risen Jesus?