Read Mark 16
Think this morning about this verse from Isaiah.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will
hear.
The Sabbath
had ended. Actually, it ended in the darkness of the evening before, but these
women who were headed to the tomb where Jesus had been placed would need
sunlight.
Joseph of Arimathea
donated his tomb. Actually, revisionists
think that it might not have been a donation. As it was just a short weekend stay,
it might have just been an Air BnB rental.
But in any
case, Jesus was placed in the tomb with some hasty preparation by Joseph of
Arimathea and Nicodemus the Pharisee who
had come to see Jesus at night. It was a best-effort job that had to be
done before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath.
Obviously,
the hasty job by the men did not satisfy the women’s standards so at sunrise
they are headed to the tomb in which Jesus was placed. It had been a long and
fearful Sabbath. The disciples were afraid and gathered together. What would
they do?
For the
women, there was no discussion. Before anything could be done, the body of
Jesus had to be given proper preparation, and two women named Mary and one named
Salome were headed to the tomb. One Mary is Mary Magdalene and the other is
likely the mother of Jesus though she is identified as the mother of James—who was
the half-brother of Jesus.
Salome was
probably Zebedee’s wife. In any case, three women fully equipped with spices,
were headed to do things the right way as far as the body of Jesus was
concerned.
Then it hit
one of them. Who will move the stone
away? It’s a big stone and takes several men. Who will do this?
Who will roll the stone away?
So, the
women turned back and went to round up some men for that job. Not!
They kept
going and found the stone had already been removed. We will continue with the
story. It’s a good one for sure, but let’s stop and consider these women.
They know
that they have to do right by their Master when it comes to his final
preparations. They know what to do. They don’t know how they are going to get
into the tomb, but they keep heading that way. They know their part and
they keep moving forward.
There is
saving faith—the for God so loved the world stuff—and there is healing faith. Jesus
talked about the faith of the mustard seed and about moving mountains.
These gals
just needed a big rock moved. They didn’t know how that would happen but they
continued on their mission to do what they knew to do. They continued forward
expecting to do their part.
That’s
faith.
I know what
my part is. I don’t know how the rest of this will fall into place. I will move
forward to do my part.
But when
they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled
away.
The men are
all back at their Air BnB in a terrible funk but the women are doing what they
know to do.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will
hear.
Were these
women led by faith? Was it ignorance? Did they just have to get out of that
house full of brooding men who didn’t know hat to do next?
Any might be
the case. I’m going with faith—plain and simple faith. This is how I live my
life every day faith. I say it was
faith.
The women
did not fully understand, but they knew their part.
Sometimes,
we just need to pay attention to our parts. Sometimes we need to know less
about the big picture and just keep our eyes fixed on what God wants us to do.
Sometimes we
just pick up our spices and head to the tomb. I know my part.
I think the
women knew Proverbs 3:5-6. I think they were just trusting
in the Lord and going to that tomb took a lot of trust—the with all of your
heart sort of trust.
Now, let’s
get to the part that got you up and in here early this morning. The women see
the stone rolled away and a young man in a white robe sitting by the entrance.
“Don’t be
alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell
his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will
see him, just as he told you.’”
I will talk
more about Peter and some other nuances of this morning at the next service,
but for now, be affirmed by these words.
He is not
here. Jesus of Nazareth is not in this tomb. You won’t be needing those spices
after all.
He has risen! He is not here.
Those are
our words of affirmation this Resurrection Sunday. Our words of discipleship—our
challenge or our charge is this.
Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will
hear.
God
has good plans for us. We need to trust him enough to just do our part and not
to worry about the rest. It’s ok to be afraid,
but know that the spirit
of fear did not come from God.
God will help
you deal with your fear. Your part—our part is faith. Just keep the faith. We
keep on stepping out in faith and doing our part and trusting God to do the rest.
He has risen! He is not here.
There is
your affirmation.
Step out
in faith. There is
your challenge.
Celebrate
today like no other day.
Step out
from this place in faith, not fear!
Amen.
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