Do not be afraid, He has risen!

Matthew 28:1-10

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

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Dear friends

The resurrection takes place, not the Sabbath, but the first day of the week. Saturday ended at nightfall, but the women went to the grave at dawn. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, witnessed the crucifixion, the burial, and now become witnesses of the resurrection.

The women feared being bothered by the Roman guards, but they went to the grave anyway. Then, there was the earthquake and the dazzling appearance of the angel that should have frightened them. They would think that someone would have done something with the body of Jesus. However, it is difficult for faith to live together with fear, and the angel comes to restore faith. "Do not be afraid." It is a moment of grace in which the messenger of God recognizes the natural fear of women and helps them overcome it.

"He is risen." The Good News is not only that the spirit of Jesus lives, but that he has also been raised in body to a new life.

The angel commissions the women who tell the disciples, making them the first to proclaim the Good News of the resurrection.

Jesus is presented to them. "And they came and embraced his feet, and they worshiped him." The women immediately recognize Jesus.

Jesus reassures them again, as the angel had done. Repeat the command of the angel to go and tell the disciples, add "give the news to my brothers, to go to Galilee."