It is a holy thing to mourn; to weep; to lament.
We have a tendency, in our society, to move too quickly past mourning, to wave-off weeping, and to limit lamentation. And thus we deprive ourselves of the healing lamentation can bring.
It was not that way in ancient societies. Our spiritual ancestors knew the wisdom of partaking in private and public practices of lamentation.
When Jeremiah beheld the fall of Jerusalem, he called for the mourning-women, women whose role it was to lead the community in lament. He said: “let them quickly raise a dirge over us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids flow with water. [Let them] teach your daughters a dirge, and each to her neighbor a lament” [Jeremiah 9: 18,20].
On the day Jesus was crucified, after his body was taken down from the cross, a group of women watched as his body was placed in the tomb. These women saw it as their task to lead the community in mourning and in lament, and part of that task included taking care of the body.
Luke’s gospel describes this as a rather large group of women. Luke says it included “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women” who were followers of Jesus.
In the egalitarian community that made up Jesus’ followers, they may have been considered disciples, on equal footing with the male disciples. After all, as Paul wrote, in the kingdom of God there is neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus; a radical idea for the time, but one which Jesus’s followers appear to have practiced.
And these women, like the other disciples, had been drawn to Jesus, because he dared to present an alternative vision for the world, something he called “the kingdom of God,” where the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, and the poor are blessed; where the meek inherit the earth, and where those who mourn find comfort.
They thought - they had dared to believe - that this vision of God’s kingdom could become a reality, just as Jesus said.
But Rome crucified Jesus. And it seemed that the dream of a kingdom of God coming to earth died with him.
He loved his disciples. His love was overflowing. These women didn’t know anyone whose love was as great as his.
It was important that they do their part in honoring Jesus by caring for his body, and leading the community in lament.
Unfortunately, their work of caring for the body - anointing the body - would have to wait. The Sabbath was about to begin, and they could not do their work on the Sabbath.
So after they watched Jesus’s body get placed in the tomb - after they saw the giant, heavy stone placed over the entrance to the tomb - they left.
They began preparing spices and ointments for the body, but then, as the sun set and the sabbath began, they put their work on hold, until the sabbath was over.
After the Sabbath - on Sunday morning, early - while it was still dark - the women made their way to the tomb.
It’s interesting how darkness plays a major role, both at Jesus’ birth, and at his death.
Tradition holds that Jesus was born at night, that shepherds received the news of his birth while they watched their flocks at night, and that magi traveled at night to bring their gifts to the newborn king, following a star that guided them.
Now, at night, in darkness, these women bring their gifts… just as the magi did.
Myrrh may very well have been one of the spices they brought, and they may also have brought some frankincense, echoing the gifts of the magi. I wonder if it’s even possible that the bottle of myrrh they brought was the same bottle of myrrh that the magi gave to Jesus’s mother. A valuable gift like that would have been kept safe until it was needed…
It was needed now. It should have already been used to anoint the body, but they had to wait until the Sabbath was over.
They walked quickly, trying not to trip over rocks or other obstacles that they might not see in the early-morning darkness.
When they came near the tomb, they slowed down. Something looked different. Was it the darkness? Were their eyes playing tricks on them?
One of them let out a short gasp. Another whispered a bewildered, “Whhaaat?”
They had anticipated that their first challenge would be moving the stone so they could go into the tomb; but the stone had already been moved.
Who did this?
They ran into the tomb. The one who gasped now screamed, and the one who whispered “what?” was now muttering, “no, no, no, no, NO!”
The body was not there!
Confusion and devastation washed over them. After everything that had happened, all they wanted to do now was give the body a proper anointing. This was part of the mourning process, a way to honor their loved one and help the community find healing. Could they not even do that?
Suddenly, two men in dazzling clothes appeared, and stood beside the women. The women were terrified. Terrified of the sudden appearance of these men, but also terrified of so many things.
With Jesus gone, all their fears from all the years that they had been holding back now broke through all their defenses.
Maybe things would never get better. Maybe these men meant them harm. Maybe they didn’t even care if these men meant them harm, given that everything else they had dared hope for was now taken from them. Forever, it seemed.
It’s hard work, holding all our fears at bay. It’s hard work, pretending to be strong, when inside we feel like we’re falling apart. It’s hard work. So hard.
And at that exact moment when these women were ready to give up fighting, to finally let go of all they had hoped for, to just give in to the despair and the fear and the desperation, the men said to them: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen.”
The book of Ecclesiastes says that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to be born and a time to die… a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”
The women thought they were in a time of weeping and mourning; turns out, they were in a time of laughing and dancing.
But to laugh, and especially to dance, they had to let go of their mourning. More literally, they had to let go of the oils and spices they carried with them to anoint the dead body. There was no dead body! And one can’t dance while holding onto large jars. One can’t rejoice while holding on too long to mourning.
They had to set the jars down, so they could dance.
And sometimes, we need to do the same. We’re carrying around the jars of mourning, the jars of death; but there is a time when we need to set those jars down, and dance.
And that time is today!
On this day, we know that all our mourning and all our weeping - though such things are good and helpful and necessary - will all give way to laughter and joy and dancing.
On this day, we know that all hate will eventually give way to love.
On this day, we know that all death will give way to life.
And God’s gifts of life and love are overflowing. Just like the oil Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet (our scripture reading from two weeks ago) - it was so much oil, running over his feet, pooling on the floor.
Too much perfume & oil, some would say. An extravagant waste, some would say.
…Just like some would say that we talk too much about God’s love. Some would say we talk about love too much! And that we talk too much about how God’s love is unconditional, and how God’s love is overflowing, and how God’s love extends to each and every person, with no exception!
Do we talk about love too much? I don’t think so! I think there’s no such thing as too much talk about God’s love. In fact, I’m going to talk about it some more: God’s love extends to each and every person. NO exception!
And God’s love is more powerful than death! Romans 8 says that nothing, not even death, will ever separate any of us from God’s love.
Do you think there is something in you that is keeping you separated from God’s love? Do you think there is something in your life that makes you unlovable? Has someone told you this, that there is something in you, or in your life, separating you from God’s love?
Nothing - not even death - can separate you from God’s love. Nothing - not even death - makes you unlovable. Because God’s love is more powerful than death, and therefore nothing will stop God from loving you. You are worthy of love. You couldn’t make God stop loving you if you tried!
So whatever fears you have about your future, or about whether or not you are loved, or about where you will spend eternity - it’s time to set those fears down like the women set down their jars of spices and ointment and perfume. You need to set down those fears, because now - today - is not the time for fear. Now is not the time for hiding...
Now is the time for dancing. Now is the time for laughter. Now is the time for joy.
Because today is Easter Sunday. The day of resurrection. The day on which we are reminded that God’s love always prevails.
No comments:
Post a Comment