In the morning
after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (likely not Jesus’ mother),
went to the tomb. In other gospels, there is talk about the women bringing burial
spices to prepare the body. But I think Matthew knows better here. He knows
that Jesus’ body had already been anointed, meaning he didn’t need further
anointing for his burial. So in Matthew’s gospel, it simply says that the women
were going to see the tomb. To me, it’s like any other time someone would go
visit the grave of someone they love who had died.
But
I digress. The women, the two Mary’s, went to see the tomb. When they got to
the tomb there was a great earthquake, and an angel came and rolled back the
stone that covered the entrance to the tomb.
The
guards were afraid, and it seems that the women were too because the first
thing that the angel said was, “do not be afraid.” The angel then told them
that Jesus was not there, but rather that he was alive. The women are told to
go and tell all that they have learned. As they go on their way, they
encountered Jesus and he also says to them, “do not be afraid.”
“Do
not be afraid.” Easy for Jesus to say! Can you imagine what these women were
going through?! They came to the tomb because they loved Jesus, and they came
filled with grief and sadness, filled with a sense of loss both for their
friend that was gone and also for all that he represented to them. Despair
would have been something else that they were feeling. If you have ever grieved
the loss of someone you loved, then you know that grief, sadness, and despair
would have been the least that these women were feeling.
And
now to learn that Jesus is not in the tomb?! So now they feel fear! Fear for
what has happened to his body. Fear of the strange being that is there in front
of them. Fear to really believe, to let hope back into their hearts, that maybe
Jesus really was alive.
So
often, throughout the bible, we come across these words of assurance, “Do not
be afraid.” Typically, these words are said by an angel, sort of like their
calling card. It is how you know you are being visited by an angel.
Luke’s
account of Jesus’ birth and Matthew’s account of Jesus’ resurrection contain
these words of reassurance which seem to wrap the entire gospel narrative in
those words, “Do not be afraid.” These are among the first words uttered by
Gabriel to Mary when he tells her she will bear a son named Jesus. Then, an
angel uses these same words to reassure Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when
they find the tomb of Jesus empty and the earth shaking.
Fear
is a powerful emotion and can affect people in different ways. For some, fear
is empowering because it gives the person the adrenaline they need to move
forward, to try something new, to go on an adventure, etc.
For
others, fear can be paralyzing, debilitating, and can make you run away. Ever
hear of fight, flight, or freeze? The fight response is your body's way of
facing any perceived threat aggressively. Flight means your body urges you to
run from danger. Freeze is your body's inability to move or act against a
threat. A new one I learned is fawn, which is your body's stress response to
try to please someone to avoid conflict.
For
me, fear plays terrible tricks on my mind. It locks me into place, makes me
freeze up, and often takes away opportunities. If I am full of fear, I am more
likely to run away than to go and tell.
As
a child, when you are gripped with fear, there is often someone who can help – parent,
grandparent, sibling – someone to say the words, “do not be afraid.” And as a
child, it is easy to believe those words of reassurance, to take great comfort
from them.
Fear
is bigger for adults, more complex, and those words of reassurance are harder
to come by. As adults, we live with enormous responsibilities and complex
realities. If we hear the words, “do not be afraid,” we are often suspicious of
the sincerity behind those words. Think about a time someone told you, “Do not
be afraid. There is nothing to worry about.” When someone says to us, “do not
be afraid,” the words often feel like empty platitudes. Something like, “there,
there.”
And
yet, here are these angels, to Mary at the beginning of Jesus’ story and to Mary
Magdalene at the tomb, coming to say just that – “do not be afraid.” These are
not words of assurance that nothing will go wrong but, rather, assurance that whatever
may happen to us, God has the power to strengthen us and uphold us; that no
matter our fears, God will never leave us to face them alone; that nothing is stronger
than God’s love and God will always get the last word.
The
angel tells the people, “Do not be afraid.” This command concerning fear is on-going.
We should never be afraid anymore! Jesus has won! Do not allow fear to keep you
from sharing what you have seen here. Do not let fear keep you from hoping, and
what it means that the tomb is empty, and what you know now to be true, even if
you are having hard time understanding it.
The
women are invited by the angel to come and see that Jesus is not here in the tomb,
and then they are told go and tell. Because “come and see” must always be
followed by “go and tell.” It's a part of the good news! We are to go and tell
the ways that God has shocked us into bewilderment, caused us to hope in our
hearts that there can be new life. We are called to tell where we see God's
love and grace at play in our world and how God's peace has attended us in
times of sadness and grief.
The Gospel that began with a man afraid to marry his disgraced betrothed and a fearful king who tries to kill potential rivals ends with overwhelming joy. Jesus’ command to the women becomes a command to all of us: Stop being afraid! God has defeated death. Rejoice, and share the good news!
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