Sunday of the Myrrhbearers 2025

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit. Christ is risen. We are in

the midst of the Paschal season, and this year,

April 20th, was the first Sunday of Pascha. Pascha

itself. And on Vespers that day, the Gospel reading

ended with the Apostle Thomas saying these words.

Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails

and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And belief is such an important thing for us,

for all of us. Belief is central to our faith.

And last Sunday, on the second Sunday of Pascha,

We heard in the Gospel reading how the Lord appeared

miraculously in the middle of a closed room in

the midst of his disciples, and St. Thomas was

there. And the Kentuckian of that day said, Thomas

touched your life -giving side with an eager

hand, O Christ God, when you did come to your

apostles through closed doors. He cried out with

all, You are my Lord and my God. Doubt disappeared.

Believing Thomas went forth that day, and from

that time he took the gospel message to many

people in many lands. The way of salvation was

taken to Parthia and to the Medes and to the

Persians and to those in India. He took the gospel.

and gave it to others because he had belief.

Belief is the most important thing for us to

move forward in faith, to walk with the Lord.

And this Sunday, the third Sunday of Pascha,

the Sunday of the myrrh -bearing women, of the

saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, believed.

Today's gospel reading from Mark tells us of

how Joseph took down the body of Christ and wrapped

him in fine linen and placed him in a new tomb

and rolled a great stone in front of that door

and then after on the Sabbath morning after the

Sabbath on the next morning at the sunrise Mary

Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome,

bought spices that they might come and anoint

him. It was a Jewish custom to anoint the body

with aromatic oils, and these faithful women,

they sought to fulfill this custom. They knew

there was a stone there, but they went anyway.

And what did they find? the stone rolled away

miraculously. And inside the tomb, they did not

find the body of the Lord. They found an angel

who told them, Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus

of Nazareth, who is crucified. He is risen. He

is not here. See the place where they laid him.

But go tell his disciples and Peter that he is

going before you into Galilee. There you will

see him as he said to you. And we honor these

myrrh -bearing women this day for their courage

and their devotion and their demonstration of

great love for Jesus. When the disciples were

scattered, they were at the Lord's tomb, learning

of the resurrection in fullness. And this is

the lesson for us. to move forward in faith,

to believe, to follow our Lord and God and Savior,

Jesus Christ, even when perhaps a moment of doubt

hits us. We keep going, just as they did, with

courage, devotion, and love, to never leave him,

to trust in him with such faith that even if

some unmovable stone is in our way, We continue

moving forward, doing what we know is right,

seeking to follow his commandments because we

believe. And we will walk a life of faith and

live a life of faith, continuing on the road

of salvation and the way of truth. St. Thomas

had doubts, but he kept walking. And the Lord

gave him what was needed. And so that now we

call him believing Thomas. Do you have doubts?

Keep going. What is the most important step in

your walk of faith? The next step. Keep going

and God will sanctify you. Believe and trust

in the Lord. And now on this third Sunday of

Pascha. We rejoice with the myrrh -bearing women,

with St. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, with

St. Thomas and all the apostles and all the saints.

We rejoice for our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus

Christ, has conquered sin and death. Christ is

risen.