On this third Paschal Weekend, the Church calls us to remember the Ointment-Bearing Women, those seven women who came to anoint the body of Jesus and carry out the traditional Jewish practices of burial. This remembrance places emphasis on one of the essential activities that true followers of Jesus Christ are called to engage in, namely that of service to others. In imitation of Jesus, followers find ways to integrate service to others into their lives. This is in accord not only with the words of Jesus but also in accord with the way He lived. Jesus told His disciples that anyone who aspires to follow Him must think of being of service to others. We truly begin to imitate Jesus when we make service to others a priority in our lives. You will recall that His entire life was dedicated to helping others. We are called to “follow” Him in this effort.

In the scriptures the seven myrrh-bearing women are named: Mary Magdalene; Mary the mother of James and wife of Clephas; Joanna, the wife of Chusa, who was steward to Herod Antipas; Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee; Suzanna; and Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. So that we might not think that service to others is something that only women are called upon to do, the scriptures also name Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemos as the persons who actually took Jesus down from the cross and buried Him. This shows us that men are called upon to also be of service to others.

While it is true that the events that are recalled during the first several weeks after Pascha actually took place in history (i.e., Christ appearing to the apostles and St. Thomas and the Ointment-Bearers going to the grave), it is important to note that they are not presented by the church in chronological order. The women went to the grave two days after the burial of Jesus while Jesus appeared to the gathering of apostles when Thomas was present, almost seven days later. This fact suggests that the church is highlighting several essential things to us by presenting these events in this sequence. The first, of course, is obvious. We are exhorted not to DOUBT the fact of the Lord’s Resurrection. The second is that we be reminded of THE WAY that we are called to live as followers of the Risen Christ. When we focus on service to others, we find that we grow in our ability to love others. Of course we must always remember that we should not expect a positive response from others when we attempt to be of service to them. Jesus and His early followers never expected anything in response to their desire to help others. If we desire to be thanked for our service, then we should not make it a part of our life. Our service must be freely given without any sort of expectation of receiving the gratitude of those helped!