Dignity through the mission of proclamation
 

“And behold, Jesus came to meet them and said, ‘Greetings!’ They went up to him, fell down before him and embraced his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.’” (Mt 28:9–10)

We are in Liturgical Year A. The Gospel of Matthew is largely read at Sunday Masses. In April 2026, we reach the climax of the church year with Holy Week, which leads into Easter and the subsequent 50-day Easter season. In the Bible passage quoted, we encounter Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. They are the first to whom the Resurrection is announced by an angel at the tomb (Mt 28:1–8) and are now the first to whom Jesus himself appears as the Risen One. The command of the angel at the tomb, ‘Go quickly to his disciples and tell them: He has risen from the dead …’ (v. 7), is surpassed by the encounter with the risen Jesus. Now he himself gives them the mission to proclaim: ‘Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.’ The women could scarcely have received a greater honour. They came to the tomb as mourners, wishing to perform a final act of love for their Master. They leave the tomb comforted, proclaiming the Good News of the Resurrection with joy. Love cannot remain silent about what it encounters in love.

The encounter between Jesus and the women described in Matthew does not seem entirely consistent. According to Matthew 28:8, the women are said to have left the tomb filled with both fear and joy. These emotional states do not really fit together. On the one hand, the women approach Jesus, which fits with a feeling of joy and does not suggest fear. On the other hand, the women fall down before him, which is a gesture of fear, submission or reverence. Clutching his feet, however, testifies less to a fear of the Risen One than to the fear of losing him again, the desire to hold on to him.

However the scene is presented by the evangelist, what remains is the commissioning of the women to proclaim the message – by the exalted Jesus, that is, by the Most High, as it were. He chooses them as witnesses, even though under the law of that time the testimony of women carried little weight. Perhaps this passage invites us to look at God’s perspective and actions, which are often so very different from those of us humans. God has chosen the lowly and the despised (cf. Paul in 1 Cor 1:27ff.), for God looks at the heart and not at a person’s status (cf. David in 1 Sam 16:7). Many of Jesus’ encounters and words also make this clear: for example, the story of the poor widow (Mark 12:41–44) or the tax collector in the temple (Luke 18:13ff.); the conversation with the woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:7–26) is another such instance.

Where the male disciples take to their heels (the disciples on the road to Emmaus: Luke 24:13), hide behind locked doors (John 20:19, 26) or seek to flee back to their old lives (John 21:3), the women rush to proclaim the good news. This should be a wake-up call for our Church in these difficult times, for all who are moved by the love of Jesus. Wherever we seek him, Jesus comes to meet us.

Perhaps, inspired by the brief Easter passage in Matthew, we can show greater appreciation towards people whom we do not hold in such high regard. God himself made himself small in the child of Bethlehem to be very close to us. If we take this to heart, we become God’s co-workers and pioneers for many a miracle in this world. That is my wish for you during this season, which also needs your proclamation of the Resurrection and of life.

Barbara Heitfeld