Luke 23:54-56a
It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.
It was the day of Preparation, Luke tells us. The day before the Sabbath. Every Friday was a day of Preparation, a day to get ready for the Sabbath that would commence that evening. And so households throughout Jerusalem and its surrounding territories, and indeed wherever faithful Jews dwelt, would now be making preparations for the day of rest.
But before these women go home to do their duty of preparing for the Sabbath, they first fulfill another duty to the one they have followed and supported, loved and believed in. The follow Jesus not only to the cross but now also to the tomb, to see where they laid him, so that they may return after the Sabbath to do him one more honor. And so on this day of Preparation, they prepare twice, once for the coming Sabbath, and once for their act of devotion to Jesus’ dead body.
It’s such a small thing, when you think about it, to go and watch, to prepare to honor a fallen comrade. Yet from this small thing God will announce wondrous news. At the beginning of this story it was shepherds watching in their fields to whom the angels announced the news of God’s mercy and love. And now at the end it is women watching where they laid Jesus to whom angels will announce God’s redemption and love.
Such a small thing – to watch and to prepare. How many other small things, I wonder, that we are called to every day might God use to announce salvation, blessing, mercy, and love?
Prayer: Dear God, take the small things of our life – the small acts of obedience and faithfulness, of kindness and compassion that seem of such little account – and use them to share the good news of your love with all the world. Amen.
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