Within the Orthodox Church, the Third Sunday of Easter is celebrated as the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, those women who came to anoint Jesus’ body following his burial. It falls on our calendar tomorrow.
Today, we read of Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, but in reading the other Gospels, you will find different lists of names—eight in total: the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother; “the mother of James and Joses” (reportedly, these are the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, and she was, therefore, their step-mother); Mary Magdalene; Mary, the wife of Clopas; Joanna, wife of Chouza, a steward of Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus; and Susanna. (Source)
It is not believed that the Gospel writers got it wrong when listing the women; instead, it seems to indicate that different groups went separately and had varying experiences at the empty tomb. Whatever the case, because of their great love for him, they all went to the tomb to anoint the Body of Jesus, only to discover that the tomb was empty. But, if there was no Body, did that end their work?
In a sermon, St. John Damascus (d.749) wrote for the Easter Season—“When You [Jesus] did descend unto death, O Life Immortal, then did You slay Hades with the lightening of Your Divinity. And when You did also raise the dead out of the nethermost depths, all the power in the Heavens cried out: O Life-giver, Christ our God, glory be to You. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. The noble Joseph, taking Your immaculate body down from the Tree, and having wrapped it in pure linen and spices, laid it for burial in a new tomb. But on the third day You did arise, O Lord, granting great mercy to the world. Now and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Unto the myrrh-bearing women did the Angel cry out as he stood by the grave: Myrrh-oils are meet for the dead, but Christ has proved to be a stranger to corruption. But cry out: The Lord is risen, granting great mercy to the world.”
They could not anoint His Body because He had risen, but there was still work to be done; therefore, “cry out: The Lord is risen, granting great mercy to the world.”
Their love for Jesus extended into the grave, giving them the courage to go out into the world and proclaim His resurrection. How far does your love for Jesus carry you? Once you learned that He was risen, how did you respond to the angel’s charge to go and tell?
Our work is not nearly done; therefore, as Peter said in our first reading, let everyone “know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom” was crucified.
Candle in a Cave 