O God, you are so often found in silence, help us to watch and wait as the faithful myrrh bearers did at the tomb of your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Psalm 62 opens with “For God alone my soul in silence waits.” One mystic has said that the purpose of spoken prayers is to take us to a place of deep silence with God. And when the prophet Elijah was waiting for a word from the LORD, we are told that “the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”
Silence though is hard for us. We have background music in restaurants, elevators, and while on hold on the phone. It’s not often until we intentionally go somewhere remote that we realize just how noisy our world is. There is something sacred and holy about watching and waiting in silence. Once the prayers have been uttered, we wait. This is the witness of the holy myrrh bearers, the women who come to the tomb on Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus. Matthew records them at Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary,” and they are the characters on which we focus this Holy Saturday.
Yes, I am aware that the most important action of this day happened in hell, as Christ harrowed it. And I’ve preached on that aspect of Holy Saturday before. What Jesus did in his descent into death and hell is truly saving and amazing. But this year, I want to focus on what happened on earth – which was holy waiting by these faithful women.
Matthew records that as Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Jesus from Pilate and was granted it and laid it in a tomb, “the two Marys were there, sitting opposite the tomb.” They were witnesses to all of the happenings of Friday. Though the disciples had fled and hid, they kept the faithful vigil. The Marys saw the excruciating death of their friend and rabbi. They watched his lifeless body be lowered from the cross. They saw the tears and heartache of his mother. And they saw Joseph lay him in a tomb.
This means that when they came to the tomb on Sunday morning, they knew exactly where to go. Their watching makes their witness all the more reliable. They didn’t go to the wrong tomb and find it empty. No. They had seen exactly where Jesus was laid. It tells us of the importance of staying and waiting.
We are so quick to move from one thing to the next. We skip the credits, we don’t sit through the voluntary at Sunday worship, we multitask with several projects at once. But sometimes we miss out on what God would have us to see when we don’t just sit and pay attention, absorbing what is right before us. These women watch and wait. They don’t see Jesus die and sulk away thinking that the story is over. They stay and wait, which prepares them, even if unknowingly, to be the discoverers of the Resurrection. Even when we’re not sure what we’re doing, God is preparing us for mission.
Now, there’s a rather obvious question about Easter morning. Why, if Joseph of Arimathea had already wrapped and anointed the corpse of Jesus, did the women come back on Sunday morning? Anointing the dead was a one-and-done sort of thing. Once the tomb was sealed, there wasn’t an expectation of opening it three days later. If that was the plan, why seal it with such a large stone that you wouldn’t be certain you could move?
It’s not so much that the Marys planned to return and anoint Jesus after the sabbath, but they had to. They had witnessed how Jesus was prepared for his burial – hastily. Scripture tells us that it was almost the time of the sabbath, a time when everyone rested from work. There was barely any time to properly anoint Jesus. In fact, they had noticed that Jesus wasn’t properly anointed. He wasn’t given the care they would have given him. They knew the importance of sabbath rest, which is a lesson to us who don’t know how to take a day off. But they knew that once the sabbath was over, they’d go to the tomb to give their friend the burial he deserved. It’s not unlike our custom today of leaving flowers at the grave of a loved one.
Anointing was both a practical and religious act. It was practice because bodies were not embalmed, and as they decay, they stink. Anointing with aromatic spices helps with the smell. The anointing also had personal and religious significance. It was a way to show love. Womanist theologians are scholars who help us to see Scripture through the lens of being both black and female. One such theologian notes that enslaved black women so deeply identified with Jesus because they knew Jesus deeply identified with them. Just as Jesus was rejected, assaulted, abused, and ridiculed, so were they. Jesus was a companion in their objectification, degradation, and suffering. The Marys likely knew a similar life experience, and so they came to honor one of their own - a fellow sufferer.
And they honored him with a proper burial. Scripture tells us that they used myrrh, a rare spice that was valued at about $4,000 a pound in today’s dollars. In Jesus’ time, myrrh was more valuable than gold. Sure, it might seem extravagant to spend that sort of money on a corpse. But their action shows us that no act of love is ever wasted.
Yes, on the sabbath they rested, but they knew what they’d do as soon as the sabbath was over – they would come and finish the job of burying their friend. They show us the importance of ritual. If they had said “done is good enough,” they would have missed Easter morning. Rituals matter – whether that’s the liturgies of the Church, family dinners, or standing meetings with friends, the holy rhythms of life set us up to pay attention to the things that matter most.
All of this happens because the Marys, the holy myrrh bearers, waited in silence. They watched what happened. They did not leave too early and saw the tomb where Jesus was laid. They saw that more anointing needed to be done. And they resolved to do that holy work of love. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary kept vigil as they watched and waited. Through our rituals and traditions, we do the same. Holy Saturday is often overlooked, but there are sacred blessings to receive in the silent waiting. Their witness to us is an encouragement for us to linger and tarry a bit longer; to slow down; to be silent. And this is what we will gather to do later today. We will gather to keep vigil and wait for that moment when, like these faithful Marys, we will witness the Resurrection of our Lord.
