Daily Devotional (GPS)
Mary Stayed Until the Very End
Daily Scripture
Matthew 27:55-61
55 Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
57 That evening a man named Joseph came. He was a rich man from Arimathea who had become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He came to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission to take it. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock. After he rolled a large stone at the door of the tomb, he went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting in front of the tomb.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The crucifixion was over; Jesus was dead. We now call that day “Good Friday,” but there was nothing about it that felt good to Jesus’ followers as it happened. The boastful male disciples (cf. Matthew 26:35) had all faded into hiding. But many of the women were still there, almost certainly including Jesus’ mother Mary. (Matthew 13:55 said she had sons named James and Joseph.) She had accepted God’s call to bring Jesus into the world—she wasn’t going to quit now.
- Many tried hard to refute Christians’ claims that Jesus rose from the dead. “He wasn’t really dead, they said. Or maybe the disciples stole the body. Or maybe someone else did. Or perhaps the women went to the wrong tomb. These were all stock answers to the early Christian message.” * But Matthew recorded that the women saw exactly where Jesus’ body was placed. How did the women’s dogged fortitude contradict in advance the claim that they went to the wrong tomb?
- Dorothy Sayers, a loyal Christ follower and the first woman to earn an Oxford degree, explained why Jesus won women’s loyalty. He was “a prophet and teacher who never nagged at [women]; never flattered or coaxed or patronized… who rebuked without [demeaning] and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them… who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend.” ** How does that illuminate why Resurrection joyously has female and male clergy working together?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we’re “enlightened,” but we still too often hear jokes about women’s driving or emotionalism. Guide me to discern and live beyond hurtful gender or other stereotypes, as you did. Amen.
GPS Insights
Leah Swank-Miller
Leah Swank-Miller serves as Pastor of Care and Director of Student Ministries at Resurrection Overland Park. A Kansas native, she has been a professional actress for nearly two decades, and she loves to see the vastness of God’s creation through theatre and the arts. Leah recently graduated with an M. Div. from Saint Paul School of Theology. Leah, Brian, and their two children love to play tennis, golf, soccer, and board games.
I cannot seem to get this phrase out of my mind: “She had accepted God’s call—she wasn’t going to quit now.” I know that phrase; I’ve felt that phrase deep in my bones. Carrying my children through childbirth, finishing my master’s degree, working on almost 20 years of marriage, leading students through questions of faith and doubt, holding the hand of a loved one as they take their last breaths. Complex, painful parts of my past that I thought to myself, I can’t quit now; I’m going to see this through.
I imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, had her fair share of doubt along her life’s journey and encountered a more significant share of doubters from the outside looking in. I cannot imagine being the mother of the Christ child, watching him grow, witnessing God incarnate with miracle after miracle, only to be questioned on her ability to know what exactly she saw the day her miraculous son was buried in a tomb.
We may be living in a more enlightened society, but it is jarring to see how many things have not changed much in the last 2000 years. Women are still questioned on the validity of their knowledge, aptitude, and accountability. Jesus set the example of how we are to treat, love, and respect one another, mainly by choosing to include women in his ministry, and we humans continue to fall short of that example. There is a reason children are told to find a woman in a time of crisis. God trusted a woman to bring Jesus, the son of God, into this world. Jesus trusted women, specifically Mary Magdalene, to be the first to testify and preach the good news of the risen savior. This isn’t a coincidence. The intentional inclusion of women in such significant roles is a powerful reminder of God’s radical love and justice, where social hierarchies are overturned, and all are equal.
I’m grateful to be a female clergy and a pastor at Resurrection, working alongside brilliant women who inspire me daily. I’m grateful for male clergy and staff who do not demean or suppress women in leadership but encourage and praise it. I’m inspired by Mary and all the strong, thoughtful, and courageous women of our early Christian history. And I’m thankful my calling isn’t beholden to gender stereotypes but who God says I am and has empowered me to be.
What is the GPS?
Resurrection offers a free tool for those who wish to read the Bible daily. Our Grow/Pray/Study guide (GPS) provides a Bible reading, Scripture reflections based on the passage, inspirational quotes from leading Bible scholars, questions to help readers apply the Bible to their faith journey, and a daily prayer guide at the end of each day’s reflection. Many readers have told us the GPS has strengthened their spiritual growth and helped them better understand how to let the Bible guide them in Christian living.
