The Marys of Easter Weekend

 

The Three Marys at the Tomb (manuscript illumination of a 1396 antiphonary -- Lorenzo Monaco 

So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Matthew 27: 59-61

Nearly ninc years after retiring from pastoral ministry my psyche is still oriented toward Holy Week and Easter in a powerful way. When we lived in Sudbury there were services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday (for a few years), and Easter morning along with everything else related to ministry. I was also a husband and parent of three children who didn't see much of me through that time, sad to say. 

I suppose it's understandable that I continue to be mindful of the unfolding of this week in all its drama, from sorrow to celebration. This morning I read the "grave" daily readings for Holy Saturday which focus on Jesus' burial and those who keep vigil at the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus who may also have been a member of the Sanhedrin.

One of the gospels, Matthew says that two Marys were there between the time of Jesus' burial and Resurrection morning, One of them is Mary Magdalene, the woman mischaracterized as a prostitute in misogynist Christian tradition. This Mary was the first to encounter the Risen Christ on Easter morning and the first evangelist because she was the one who informed the disciples, hidden away in shock and fear. 

Honestly, it's a challenge to keep up with the Marys or Miriams in this dramatic phase of the gospels. The writers agree that there was more than one, but how many? Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at the cross, along with at least two other Marys. But who they were is not clear, although Mary Magdalene was a constant. Confusiingly, the gospels aren't consistent in who the Marys actually were -- could the parents have used a little more imagination in naming their girls? 

What strikes me is that in the too often patriarchal history of the church the argument has been made that the disciples of Jesus were men, therefore only men can lead. Yet the gospel evidence is clear that when the men made themselves scarce women mourned Jesus at Golgotha, they attended to his body after death, and the first Christian witness was a woman. What more evidence of true discipleship is necessary?  it's almost as though there has been male collusion against women despite the biblical witness! 

I do feel gratitude for those brave women who continued to be faithful despite their grief and the risk to their safety.

                                                        Christ Carried to the Tomb -- Rembrandt