Three Women at the Tomb, Ferrer Bassa (1346)

I WAS listening to Easter music on the radio while making dinner on Sunday when the programming was interrupted for a sermon by an Anglican minister. Her name was Judy or Elizabeth, I can’t recall which.

There was nothing particularly offensive about the text of her Easter message, but I wondered who was making Easter dinner at Canon Judy’s house.

Jesus chose only men for His Apostles for a reason. St. Paul enjoined against women preaching for a reason. We know that their momentous decisions had to do with hierarchy and social order. We know women have other things to do.

There was a reason women were the first to learn of the Resurrection. They were favored by God — men have said —  because of their ardent love. The Holy Women went to the tomb on Easter morning to dress the body of Jesus, a perfectly feminine way of expressing the depth of their devotion.

It was for women to repair the damage done by Eve when they found the tomb empty.

Women are not needed at pulpits or on altars. The fact that they dominate churches is one sign that we live in a wilderness without true altars.

Mary Magdalene retired to a cave for the rest of her life after the events of the Resurrection.

There, she contemplated the great mysteries she had witnessed. In the stillness, her love only grew.

Please follow and like us: