Is there anything that I could say about God today, that you folks wouldn’t believe? Is there anything I could put into a sermon that you would think is only an idle tale? Why do you believe me? (We have been together for 14 years. We have built a relationship that is respectful and reciprocal. I am educated as a clergy. I know things about the Bible and God. There is trust)
Some of these things apply in the relationship between the apostles and the women in today’s story. They have built a relationship. They have travelled together. The women have likely provided significant support and care for the men. They have also borne witness to what Jesus has said and done. They knew Jesus said he was going to be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again, just as the apostles did. They had every resource available to them to be trustworthy in this proclamation. So, why didn’t the apostles believe the women?
But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Power and privilege can be very distracting. When we get so caught up in the norms of society that establish hierarchies of authority and knowledge, we miss out on the wisdom and gifts of others. There are themes of colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy that weave throughout all that we know and experience in our society. We see these in our politics, in our classrooms, and yes, even in our churches. And yet, faith teaches us time and time again that Jesus came to turn the world upside down.
We have Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. What would it look like to have a Gospel according to Mary Magdalene – the first witness to the resurrection in all four of the Gospels we have? How was her perspective different? What might she bring to our understanding of Jesus’ time in this world? To what extent could her version of the stories challenge the patriarchal norms that have persisted for millennia through to today?
What other voices are muted because people might think their perspectives serve more as idle tales? To what extent do we miss the wisdom shared by BIPOC individuals because their traditions and understandings are different from white, colonial perspectives? Do cisgender-heterosexual expectations undermine the wonder and grace possible in recognising the queerness of God? Do we miss out on impactful imagery and metaphors about the cross from people with disabilities because we are so caught up in the assumptions of ablism?
But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Who do we fail to believe because we are caught up in the norms and expectations of our own lives and fail to see the gifts of diverse perspectives around us? To what extent does the fact that the first witnesses of the resurrection are women, muted voices of their time, challenge from whom we might hear the Good News? In what ways does the new life proclaimed in the resurrection today invite us to look beyond ourselves, to look anew at the world and see the beauty and diversity that God has created, redeemed, and perpetually nurtures?
Jesus Christ is risen today. Not just for cisgender, heterosexual, white, male, settlers, but for the whole world! May we have the wisdom and grace to open our hearts to hear the story anew from whoever may share it, trusting that God’s love works in and through each and every telling. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 582 My Love Colours Outside the Lines