April 26th, 2026: Myrrhbearing Women

The gospel readings direct our focus on the time

of the resurrection, Thomas, and then today the

myrrh bearers with Joseph and Nicodemus. So we

see their faithfulness and their love. Mary Magdalene,

Mary the mother of James and Salome, the Theotokos,

Susanna, Martha, all these Merberas. I think

we can count eight of them. They brought spices

that they might come and anoint very early in

the morning on the first day of the week. And

also Joseph and Arimathea, in their courage,

went to Pilate, that very wicked governor, and

asked for the body of Jesus. Caring for the dead,

that's something we know a little bit about for

the last two weeks for sure. But the church is

not a graveyard. If anyone is in Christ, he's

a new creation. It's about life and life eternal.

Myrrh is fitting for the dead, said the hymn,

but Christ is risen. Why does the church have

us read this gospel account today? I ask myself,

perhaps so that we might return to the experience

of Joseph and Nicodemus and the Myrrh -bearing

women after their hope had been crushed, after

they had seen the one that they followed, that

they loved, they were devoted to, beaten, crucified.

rejected by his own people. After they had lost

their hope, we returned to the tomb after Pascha,

and the stone rolled in front of the grave. That's

what they thought. But lo, it was rolled to the

side. Not so Jesus could get out, obviously.

The church brings us back. Why? Why do we have

this reading? Perhaps for me, it's because the

church wants to bring us back to the worst. place

in the story, the hardest place in the story,

perhaps reminding us of our own occasionally

dire spiritual condition, perhaps reminding us

of something else. And this is very important.

One of the Russian elders, late 19th century,

said, because of the state of the world then

and now, because of the state of the world and

because of who we are, Christians who are going

to be saved, how? Through their sorrows. Through

their sicknesses. Through the troubles that they

encounter. For them, certainly through persecution.

But he said, in all those things, if we accept

what God has given us with trust and with love

and devotion, whatever sorrow and trouble and

obstacle we have, if we accept it, and give thanks

to God for all things, like St. Paul told us

to do in that epistle on Palm Sunday, finding

everything good in every situation, then we will

be saved. You and I might be stuck in the worst

part of our life story. We can't possibly know

that, though. But today we're reminded through

the myrrh berries of the victory that is truly

here in the resurrection that is coming when

our own tale, our own spiritual life, our own

way in this life is fulfilled. Hope, not false

hope like tomorrow is going to be a better day.

Tomorrow usually isn't, if you read the news,

for most people. No. Hope, not false hope, not

hope in tomorrow, but hope in Jesus Christ, as

I've told you so many times. We have no plan

B. It's all Christ and only Christ for all things

and everything, in every sorrow, in every sickness,

in every death, especially death, since Christ

is risen. And whatever obstacle, we have hope.

Just as Christ rose and passed through the stone

that enclosed the tomb, his light can pierce

the darkness in our heart. Didn't we hear on

Pascha, in him was life, and that life was the

light of men, and the light shineth in darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it. Secondly,

I don't really like three -part sermons, but

I'm going to give you one today. Secondly, we

have this reading to remind us that evangelism

starts within the church. The Myrrh -bearing

women will illustrate this for us. The Gospel

states that the apostles were amazed by the word

of the women that Jesus was risen. We have a

beautiful fresco of Mary Magdalene. We have Mary

Magdalene meeting Jesus. We have the women at

the tomb. And the angels say, why are you here

searching for a dead man? He is risen. He is

not here. We have the women up there in that

peak before Christ. We have the apostles being

greeted by the women who do not believe them.

It's hysteria. It's hysteria. Yea, certain women

also of our company who were early at the sepulchre

made us astonished with this news. And they believed

them not. Before the evangelists picked up their

pens, Before the apostles walked to the far reaches

of the Roman Empire with their sermon, with the

good news of the victory over death, before Peter

proclaimed the good news to thousands on the

day of Pentecost, and 3 ,000 later, the myrrh

bearers, this was the church. Doesn't matter

how small it is. It's the power in those that

are there. The myrrh bearer is brought to the

apostles, the first proclamation and the first

sermon and the first news, the good news. So

we should also stand before them with astonishment.

And I take it from this, that the lesson, that

the mission of the church begins within the church.

I'll spell that out. The first evangelism required

of Christian parents, for example, is to evangelize

their children. Teaching prayer. Teaching what

the meaning of prayer is. Teaching who it is

we are praying to. Teaching about the soul, the

life of the soul. Teaching about, yes, the commandments,

the beatitudes, the creed. Teaching them to love

the scripture, not just to read it, but to love

it. To love the church services. To love the

fasts. Yes, to love the fasts. To love Lent and

the hymns of Lent. To love the feast day. To

love each other. To love their neighbor. To love

God. To love the monastics. If parents are not

evangelizing the children, maybe I'm... You know,

preachers like to exaggerate a little, so maybe

this is slightly. If parents are not evangelizing

the children, there's no point in doing anything

else. Without such evangelism within the family,

we merely become caretakers of the tomb, of a

cemetery. Sure, there are bodies there, but without

the life of the Spirit, without the life and

breath within them, In the church of God, the

body of Christ, we live, we breathe, we have

our being in the light and the knowledge, the

wisdom and joy of the resurrection of Christ.

Remember the incredible passage read by reader

Nicholas on the eve of the great and holy Sabbath

of Holy Saturday as we... came back into the

church after carrying the epitaphias, the plush

geniza shroud, around the church singing Holy

God, and reader Nicholas read that passage from

Ezekiel, the dry bones, and breath came upon

them, and sinews came upon them, and they rose.

That's what evangelizing ourselves will allow

God to do to us. We are not caretakers of a cemetery.

One more point. Those who so courageously cared

for the Lord. And it was courage. Think what

that meant. Their Lord had been crucified by

the occupying authorities. With the collusion

of the religious authorities. These women could

pass through all that. Those people saw them

as nothing. And their testimony would be received

as nothing. But they could, in their courage,

come to that tomb. An impossible task, by the

way, because they thought the stone was there.

And this says a lot about how we approach our

life in the church, because we are also invited

to be myrrh bearers. We emulate them in our care

for the body of Christ. The church, that is one

another, isn't it? Of which we are all members.

We care for one another in love. That's first.

Those who sing in the church, they're myrrh bearers.

Those who clean the church are myrrh bearers.

Those who do flowers for the feast day are myrrh

bearers. Those who look after the grounds are

myrrh bearers. Those who help clean the vestments

and put the altar covers on and the icon stands,

they're myrrh bearers. Those who prepare food

or wash the dishes. are myrrh bearers. Those

who go into the bathroom and plunge the toilet,

they're myrrh bearers too. Those who prepare

themselves to pray by fasting to receive communion,

you're myrrh bearers. Those who make offerings

of money are myrrh bearers. Those who come and

pray with all their hearts for the salvation

of the world are myrrh bearers. Gracie, may her

memory be eternal. Setting out the sugar and

the salt and the pepper and the coffee cups,

myrrh bearer. Whatever is done for the sake of

the love of Christ and his body, they're myrrh

bearers. If we do tasks here at the church for

any other reason besides devotion to our Lord

Jesus Christ and love for one another, you will

burn out. So be careful. Do it for the love of

God. Be a myrrh bearer. Let the myrrh stream

from your heart. Let the light of God pierce

through the darkness. And the risen Lord will

do what he did for those women. An angel came

and spoke to them first the good news. The good

news will be revealed in your heart in all its

power and its joy. And you will survive, not

only survive, you will thrive in this life whatever

sorrows and difficulties come to you. You will

have the risen Lord always, not just at your

hand, no, but in your heart. May our Lord have

mercy on all of us and inspire all of us to be

myrrh bearers. Glory to Jesus Christ.