15th April - Burial

Luke 23:50-56

Jesus Is Buried

50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Reflections by Elder Cyril Laugeon

I came to faith through a university ministry in my time studying in New Zealand. Although I come from a Roman Catholic background, my childhood was for the most part unreligious because my parents were not committed to a church. My outlook on Christian no ity was not good to begin with, but what drew me to God was the community of believers who beyond friendship would call each other “brother” and “sister” in the faith, and that God was “Father” and knew my inner heart. The seed of faith God planted in me by the indwelling of His Spirit bloomed when I came to Australia in 2011 and called HCC (and SOW through university) home, from which point my love for the Word increased and therefore confronted with the person of Jesus and my dire need to entrust my life to Him in very personal ways in light of His perfect life, death and resurrection. 

What jumps out at you from this reading?

What stands out to me is how Joseph was seeking the “kingdom of God” even as he carried the body of Jesus and buried it. To us the reader of Luke’s Gospel, we know that Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of God throughout His ministry on Earth. Joseph perhaps did not realize the privilege he had to be at the epicenter of the unfolding and inauguration of the kingdom of God through the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus!

What questions does this reading raise for you?

If I were in Joseph’s shoes or the women’ preparing the spices and ointments for Jesus’ burial, I wonder if I would have been sad, disappointed, angry or remained expectant of all the things He said and claimed He would accomplish. Would I have remained steadfast and still believed that Jesus is the Davidic Messiah as Peter confessed? (Luke9.20)

What do you think the writer is urging his readers to believe or do?

Luke urges us to hope in the fulfillment of the kingdom of God even as he describes the burial of Jesus. He also urges us to look at the care that Joseph and the women took to bury the body. Though He was unjustly punished as a criminal, He was buried in honor because in truth He was innocent and blameless before men, and certainly before God! 

What in this reading would you talk about with a friend and why?

I would talk about how short-lived, expected and necessary the burial was but most of all talk about the excitement and anticipation in what follows in the story!