Devotions for the week of: April 22, 2020

Reading:

Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

When my wife, Becky, and I were both in seminary, we got the opportunity to do campground ministry in Grand Marais, MN. One small part of the ministry was to lead worship at the nursing home in town during the week. One week, while Becky was leading worship in the nursing home, a resident, a small man who used a hockey stick for a cane, was listening during worship. We had been to the nursing home enough to realize that he was a little cantankerous, but we thought it was great that he wanted to be a part of worship. Afterwards, this man came over to us, and with his crooked finger pointed at both us, and told us that next time, I was supposed to speak. Then, with that same crooked finger, he pointed at Becky and told her that the Bible said she was to remain silent. Becky, with all the class and dignity she could muster, told this man that she would continue to preach and teach as God had called her to do. I wish I could say I handled myself with the same class and dignity, but I did not. I began to argue with a man who had already made up his mind a long time ago. It was an argument in futility. In a later discussion, I remarked at how calm Becky was, and she simply stated that she couldn’t let emotions get to her.

When I hear Mark 16:8, the women seem to be handling the death and resurrection of Jesus with the same class and dignity. We hear that when the women left, “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

We know that this action cannot be true because we would not be sitting here today without them. I hear it almost as a joke, or a way to grab our attention, so that we would want to know more. These women were the first disciples who went and told everyone who would listen that Jesus rose from the dead, even though they were told to be quiet in the telling of the story in Mark.

Now, think about our lives and how many of us have had faith passed down from a woman who refused to stay silent. Most of us have had a multitude of these women and we thank God for them. At a time when we are filled with our own terror and amazement, we can rely on the knowledge these women left us, that no tomb or locked door can stop our Lord and Savior.

Pastor David Piper
Calvary Lutheran Church, Rapid City, SD

Prayer:
Dear Lord, we give thanks to the women that filled us with the knowledge that no tomb or locked door could stop our Lord and Savior. Help us when we are filled with terror and amazement to still be able to proclaim all that you do in our lives. Amen.

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