A reflection on Psalm 16 and Matthew 28:1-10 for Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021 at Mosaic Baptist Church
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.’
As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,
in whom is all my delight.
Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;
their drink-offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16 (NRSVA)
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSVA)
Psalm 16 is widely known as the ‘Resurrection Psalm’. This is no surprise. After all part of it reads:
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
Here is a prayer of Israel that recognises the god who does not abandon us – even in death. It is an expression of faith – of entrusting ourselves to God – in and beyond death.
Death, in this Psalm, seems to be a sphere we do not understand – but can still trust God in.
Into this unknowing, the resurrection of Jesus is the event that changes everything. Good Friday, on its own, is just not good news. Were the story of the gospel to end with the death of Jesus we would have very little, if anything, to celebrate. It would be nothing more than the defeat of God by people; a conquering of good by evil.
But the discovery of the empty tomb by two women is a game changer.
And God knows it.
Our passage reads like all heaven is waiting and watching as the women approach. We are told nothing here of their motive except that they are going early in the morning to ‘see the tomb’. It is the most they can do after a crucifixion.
Mary Magdalene and ‘the other Mary’ are here for little more than furthering their mourning and memory.
But heaven wants them to see more.
I wonder what it is like to see a ‘descending angel’? Our author seems only able to make comparisons: he appeared ‘like lightening’; his clothes were ‘white as snow’. Combine it with and ‘earthquake’ and it is no wonder this Roman guard is left petrified.
‘Do not be afraid’ is more than sage advice. It reads like the commanding of another miracle. How could they possibly not be respond in fear?
But it is the purpose of this visit that is most intriguing: the angel is here to let these women see that Jesus is not there. He rolls the stone back, sits on top of it, and invites these women to ‘Come and see the place where he lay’.
This angel is here, not to let Jesus out, but to let the women in.
The discovery of the empty tomb is initiated – not by these faithful women – but by heaven’s messenger – ‘an angel sent from the Lord’.
And yet it seems, in this strange timing of God, these two women are the ones that heaven chose to take the message of the resurrection to the world.
They are the link between heaven’s angel and the rest of the world.
If this story is invented by the disciples they have simply failed to do a convincing job. In this culture two women did not add up to a valid testimony. If these witnesses are taken to court they can say all they wish, but without a man to validate what they have seen, they would never be taken seriously.
Who, in this patriarchal culture, would invent a story to convince the world of a resurrection and open with the testimony of two women? It reads like these things really unfolded this way.
But it is their response to running into Jesus that gets me most. They listen to and obey this awe inspiring angel ‘with fear and great joy’. But when they meet Jesus they respond with nothing less than their humble worship.
There is daylight between their reaction to this angel and their adoration upon meeting the resurrected Jesus.
Surely theirs is the most perfect of all possible responses to the events of Easter Day. Worship.
After all, this is a beginning. To be sure, it reads like the end of Matthew’s Gospel – after all we are now into the final chapter of this disciple’s biography of Jesus.
It is however, a beginning. The women are sent with a message: ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
It is a message that will alter the destiny of each of their lives. They will go. They will see. They will be transformed.
Encountering the risen Christ is a beginning. Come. See. Worship. Encounter this risen one and be filled with a hope beyond the grave.
Jesus is risen: He is risen indeed.
Conversation Starters:
Do you think Psalm 16 is talking about the writer avoiding death or being protected beyond it? Could the Psalmist possibly imagine life beyond life? Can you?
In what way is your faith in the risen Jesus a beginning? What does it start for you? What does it bring to an end?
‘Come. See. Worship.’ In what way has your encounter with the risen Jesus mirrored that of the two women at the tomb? In what way has your experience been different?
What would it take for you to encounter – either for the first time or the thousandth – the resurrected Christ? What would this change? Will you pray about this possibility of a fresh encounter?