Thoughts for the Day

....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....and is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.'

So Mary Magdalene and the other Mary 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.’

While they were going, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders, they devised a plan to give a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, ‘You must say, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story is still told among the Jews to this day.

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

All four Gospels have stories about those who see Jesus after His resurrection. The accounts are similar, but not the same. After all if all of us were asked to write down something that happened 30 or 40 years ago we couldn't expect all the accounts to be identical. Matthew's Gospel mentions an earthquake, an angel descending who rolls away the stone before sitting on it, guards who become like dead men, and Jesus who simply just appears. There is something of comedy about the picture this evokes!

But look at what lies behind the story. The Jewish authorities have bribed Judas Iscariot to ensure that Jesus is found somewhere quiet where they can arrest him; they then manipulate Pilate into believing that Jesus might be a threat as well as questioned his loyalty to Ceasar; and now the soldiers are offered money to spread the rumour that the disciples have stolen Jesus away.

A Roman proverb says "Great is the truth, and it will prevail!" We often say "Truth will out!". Today our world is obsessed with fake news - over whether the covid 19 vaccine is safe, or else the truth over allegatiions about the situation in Ukraine. We can be sure of only one thing - the truth will prevail in the end. Oh and the Resurrection of Jesus? Well the truth will prevail here too, and those who put aside their doubts and embrace the idea that Jesus, the Son of God, died and rose again for us, will in the end see that evil cannot suceed. God is Truth, and He will prevail.

Lord of Truth,
when our doubts increase
and our faith begins to fade,
keep us strong in the knowledge
that we are loved by You,
and gives us the certainty
that Your Truth will in the end
prevail across the whole world.
Amen.