Given the mind-bending miracles threaded through Jesus’ life on earth, his sudden resurrection, after dying a horrific and violent death and being laid in a tomb, was in a sense not that strange. His entire existence was woven through with extraordinary happenings, which were all about bringing life and wholeness where there had been death, disease and brokenness. He even actually raised someone else from the dead (his friend Lazarus) some time before his own death, in front of many witnesses.

So I might have expected people to be more ready to believe the reports of his empty tomb, at least those who lived alongside him and had witnessed all those other extraordinary things.

But people didn’t. Not initially. Why? Mostly because it was women who came across the empty tomb first, and people didn’t trust the words of women.

So when people today persist in not believing these reports, I find myself wondering how much of their disbelief is about the miraculous nature of the resurrection, and how much has been formed by our long history of patriarchy, which has taught us, above all else, to distrust the words of women.

Why are some people so content to assume these « silly women » made this up? These were not silly women. These were women whose lives had been materially revolutionised by the faith they’d found in Jesus, because of the time and attention he’d bothered to show them.

What is not surprising: it was the women who stayed with Jesus as he died, the women who brought spices to honour his body; the women who came back to mourn his death and their loss …and so it was the women who found the empty tomb and had the first holy encounters.

The other thing that’s not surprising: the women were not, and still are often not, believed.

And the final not surprising thing… millions of people; women, men, non binary… have discovered that the women told the truth and have encountered the risen Christ themselves. Millions, right across history and across the world. I hope in whatever form heaven actually takes, those first women can see this, know this, and be delighted with it. I’m sure somehow they do and they are.

I was inspired by this Substack post to write this this morning:

https://open.substack.com/pub/dianabutlerbass/p/sunday-musings-easter?r=2zmwo8&utm_medium=ios