Reliable Witnesses

Gospel: Matthew 28: 7-15

What does it mean to be a reliable witness? As noted previously, in ancient times women were not regarded as reliable, but neither were slaves or foreigners or people from regions deemed to be backwards.  The list of the worthy to give testimony was a short one in the ancient world, and even these could perjure themselves out of self-interest or bribery or some other way to make themselves unreliable.  

In a spiritual sense, none of us is a reliable witness, for we have all sinned and fallen short in our life.  Our lives have not provided effective testimony on behalf of an all-good God, so our words have little meaning.  Despite all this, today's reading makes for shocking reading: these women decided to share the good news (gospel) of Jesus' resurrection with the other disciples.  They were afraid to do so, knowing they would not be regarded as reliable.  Jesus appears to them and encourages them in this task, giving them the courage they need to proclaim this good news.

These women exhibited a courage none of the man had: they remained with Jesus at the cross; they came to face the Roman soldiers at the tomb of Jesus; they went to tell the others the good news in spite of the certain rejection their message would receive. If Jesus confirmed their mission of proclaiming the Good News, so should we.