I am particularly struck by the example of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in the Gospel of Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ death and resurrection. They had followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to him (Matthew 27:55). They were there, watching from a distance, as Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. They were there when Joseph of Arimethea wrapped Jesus’ body, laid him in the tomb, and rolled the stone in place. And Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there that first Easter morning, not because they think anything new will happen. They show up at Jesus’ grave to mourn and grieve. To the end, they keep following Jesus.

Of course, they are not alone on that first Easter morning. The guards are also there to keep vigil outside of Jesus’ tomb so no one would steal his body. They aren’t following Jesus; they’re just following orders.

Then the earth shakes and an angel appears who rolls the stone away, revealing that the tomb is empty. Jesus lives.

And the women and the guards have very different reactions. The guards are frozen with fear and act as though they are dead. And the women – filled with both fear and great joy – take off running to tell the others, just as the angel told them to do.

The guards live as though they were dead.

The women keep doing what they’ve been doing all along. They follow in the way of Jesus. The way that led them to bear witness to suffering and death and the way that now leads them to life.

When we follow our own way – when we just do what the world tells us to do, like those guarding Jesus’ tomb – when we downplay our heartbreaks or ignore injustice, when we are led more by self-interest than love for our neighbor, when we become numb to the cries of the least of these or participate in the lies that some people are more worthy than others, when we believe we can save ourselves – we become “like dead.”

When we follow the way of Jesus – when we show up and refuse to pretend that we are in control, when we have the courage to name our sin and grief, when we listen with open hearts to the pain of others, when we minister to others as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary did for Jesus – then, we live.

The good news of Easter does not depend on which way we choose. The good news of Easter is that Jesus is still bringing this good news – and will keep using people like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary – and by the grace of God and with teh power of the Spirit, people like you and me, to share the good news that Love never dies.