THURSDAY, July 31 Matthew 27:57. When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph. Notice the manner in which the story that unfolds after Jesus’ death switches from the wealthy Joseph to the marginalized women, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.” After bravely stepping forward to claim Jesus’ body and having it placed in “his own new tomb,” Joseph disappears from the gospel narrative. The gospels allow Joseph to play his part and then exit the stage, never to be heard from again. Matthew says Joseph was a disciple of Jesus. He obviously has the wealth to own a tomb and the power to approach the Roman governor. But the next phase of the story belongs to the women, who apparently do not know Joseph well enough to even come near while Jesus is entombed. Were rich and powerful disciples distinguished from poor ones? There is no way to answer the question except to note that all of them, rich and poor, male and female, powerful and passive, had a role to play. What would Easter be if Joseph had not provided the tomb, or if the women had not spied its location and come with spices? What might your role be in the ongoing Easter story? PRAY for the Diocese of El-Obeid (Sudan) Today the Church remembers Ignatius of Loyola, Priest and Monastic, 1556. From ForwardMovement.org
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 03:20:20 +0000
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