Monday, April 22, 2019

Fearful Yet Overjoyed


Fearful Yet Overjoyed


“My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.  Acts 2:29-31

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”  Matthew 28:8-10

Piety
May God arise; may his enemies be scattered; may those who hate him flee before him. As the smoke is dispersed, disperse them; as wax is melted by fire, so may the wicked perish before God. Then the just will be glad; they will rejoice before God; they will celebrate with great joy. (Psalm 68:1-3)

Study
For a few hours, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were the only members of the church to have witnessed the Resurrection.  According to this account in Matthew’s Gospel, they also were the first to get the New Commission.  They saw, believed, and then obeyed the two new commandments:

I.            Do Not Be Afraid.
II.          Go Tell My Brothers to Go to Galilee.

Action
The Easter message and the Christmas message overlap. After the preparation of Advent, Christ is born and we are told to “Go Tell it on the Mountain.”  Our Christmas job is to spread the Good News. After the preparation of Lent, Christ is born again and Scriptures instruct us (again) to “Go tell it.”

When we have an encounter with Jesus, we are not to keep it a secret. Yet, if we were to have an encounter with Jesus after witnessing his execution, we would probably be just like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary: fearful yet overjoyed before we head out to spread the Good News.

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