Today’s scripture: Luke 24:1-12 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Melody Merida):
Perhaps I’ve been inspired by the Saturday Night Live anti-sexism sketch (featuring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton) because what impacted me most as I read this passage was the centrality of the women to the story. Who knew that Saturday Night Live could be so spiritually uplifting?!
I absolutely love reading stories in the Bible with women as central characters. Maybe that’s because they’re so rare — it’s unexpected when we read about women taking a leading role. I particularly enjoy reading about the women of the Scriptures and seeing how they affected the world as we know it today.
I suppose an argument could be made for mere coincidence that it was a group of women who first discovered that Jesus had risen; but I tend to believe that it was divine planning. After all, Jesus was always the first one reaching out to the most unlikely. Jesus was the one who invited women to be among His disciples in a time when this would have been more than controversial.
So what might be the significance of women being the first to receive news of the risen Christ? Well, there is power in the proclamation of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. So by giving the news first to women, God empowered them to share the most important component of the Christian faith before anyone else. Mary Magdalene, the first woman listed in this narrative, became known as the “apostle to the apostles” because of the significance of her role and the role of the other women at the tomb.
And that’s remarkable, because women in this time in history had no power, other than what might be granted to them by their father or husband. They were deemed to be “less than” men in every way — economically, politically, socially, intellectually, even spiritually.
Through God’s divine wisdom, it was a group of women who were chosen to be the very first to proclaim the Good News. If God chooses to use the lowliest at this critical point in the development of our Christian faith, surely God can choose to use the lowly today.
Whatever our gender, race, orientation, or gender identity — or any other division we can imagine — God has a job for us that is as important today as it was the very day that Jesus rose from the dead. Each of us can proclaim the Good News of our risen Lord Jesus!
Thought for the day: God, by your power and grace use me to proudly proclaim the Good News of my faith. Make me like Mary Magdalene and the women at the tomb, the very first apostles!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.