Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women #
The Holy Church dedicates this present Sunday to the righteous women, the myrrh-bearers, who were the first to be deemed worthy to learn of Christ’s Resurrection and the first to see Him risen. Today, we reverently celebrate their memory, as well as that of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who were witnesses to the crucifixion of Christ.
The devout Joseph, from the town of Arimathea, was a wealthy man and a respected Jewish counselor. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and teacher of Israel, was also well-known in Judea. While Christ was preaching His teaching to the people and His enemies were filled with hatred and malice, Joseph and Nicodemus came to Him secretly by night as His disciples. But when Christ was condemned to death and crucified, these two men gave a great example of love for their Master, showing strength of spirit, courage, and resolve to stand against the hatred and persecution of their fellow countrymen. Out of loyalty and gratitude to Christ, they cast away fear and revealed themselves openly as His disciples, even while others hid. Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus, and together with Nicodemus, they took Him down from the Cross and laid their Teacher in a new tomb in Joseph’s garden. Later, for their faith and devotion to the Lord, the holy and righteous Joseph and Nicodemus suffered persecution from the Jews, yet despite this, remained faithful to Him unto the end.
And the myrrh-bearing women, about whom we know very little, likewise showed steadfastness and fidelity in their love for the Savior. These women followed Christ throughout His earthly ministry. Chief among them is the Most Pure Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Lord, a witness of her Son’s suffering on the Cross, of His death, and of His Resurrection. One of the myrrh-bearers, Mary Magdalene, had been saved by the Lord from eternal ruin, from demonic possession and sinful passions. The other women, following Him, listened to His teaching, became renewed persons, and learned His commandments of love and forgiveness. Their names are mentioned in the Holy Scriptures: Mary of Cleopas, Salome, Joanna, Martha, Mary, Susanna, and others with them — all of them sincerely devoted to Christ, considering it their highest duty and greatest joy to serve the Lord with gratitude in His earthly needs. The reverent love of one of them — Mary, the sister of Lazarus whom the Lord had raised from the dead — was shown when she, having bought precious ointment, poured it on Jesus’ head, thus offering Him burial honors even before His death and entombment.
And so, showing their great love for the Lord, they followed Him even after death, serving Him in whatever way they could. “Very early,” after the Sabbath had passed, they hastened to Jesus’ tomb, overcoming fear and disregarding all obstacles. The myrrh-bearing women seemingly forgot that a great stone was rolled against the tomb’s entrance, and that Roman guards were stationed there who might insult them or prevent them from approaching the grave. But love and deep faith overcame hopelessness, fear of shame, and even the fear of death. They safely reached the place where Jesus had been buried, found the stone rolled away from the entrance, saw the guards lying as though dead from fear, and beheld an angel who announced to them the Lord’s Resurrection — and afterward they saw the Lord Himself, who said unto them: “Rejoice!”
What a great reward for the labor of love and their boundless faithfulness! They came in deep sorrow, having forgotten the Savior’s promise that He would rise on the third day; they brought ointments to anoint the dead — but found the Risen One and were the first to taste the great joy of the Resurrection. It is from them that we have received the Paschal greeting: “Christ is Risen!”
And so, we too, even in times of despair and hopelessness, should believe that love is stronger than fear and death, firmer than threats and the terror of every danger — that love overcomes all, and it can confront death and conquer it!
Let us also learn from the myrrh-bearing women this all-conquering love for the Lord and for our neighbor. Truly does one love God who keeps His commandments and is ready to sacrifice all things—even life itself—for the glory of His name, who is ready to endure all persecutions, any torments. Such steadfastness has always been shown by many women during times of persecution for the faith, just as it was in the first centuries of the history of the Church of Christ. And so it was in the times following the Church schism in Rus’, when women gave remarkable examples of courage and firmness in faith. Let us remember the devotion of the wife of Archpriest Avvakum—Anastasia Markovna—who shared all the hardships of exile with her husband, persecuted for the ancient piety. Let us recall the names of the noblewoman Feodosia Morozova, her sister Evdokia Urusova, and their companions, who bravely gave their lives for the faith and godliness, enduring tortures and sufferings to the end, yet remaining unbroken in spirit.
Let us also remember those women who, in the years of godless persecutions against the Church, faithfully served Her day by day not in word only, but in deed—defending churches when they were being shut down everywhere, sacrificing all they had to keep parish life alive, to aid persecuted priests, and to support all who suffered deprivation and oppression. And even today, these reverent and courageous women do much to strengthen true piety, to keep churches clean and orderly, and to preserve peace and love within their communities. They are ever glorifying and thanking God—in joy and in sorrow, in happiness and in tribulation, in wealth and in poverty, in health and in illness, in times of calm and in storms of the soul—offering up with contrite heart the prayer: “Glory to Thee, O Lord, for all that happeneth according to Thy will, for by Thee all is done unto the better, all unto our salvation.” For to them that love God, all things work together for good; and sooner or later, evil is conquered by Him, as the Apostle Paul saith: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).
The Christian’s faith and love for God and for others is the true fragrant myrrh offered to the Lord. Let us also bring unto the Lord, as the myrrh-bearing women once did, the myrrh of good deeds for our brethren in Christ—that is, works of mercy and love toward our neighbor. Let each of us do what good he can, and together with that, let us offer the Lord the myrrh of repentant prayer and tears over our sins. A heart contrite over sin, and our tears, are a precious myrrh unto the Lord—and the sweet fragrance of these tears of repentance, like perfume, shall fill our soul, and the Lord Himself shall enter therein and grant us forgiveness and consolation.
On this day dedicated to the memory of the holy myrrh-bearing women, it is fitting to say a few words about the role of woman in the light of Christian teaching.
In comparison to man, the Word of God calls woman “the weaker vessel” (1 Peter 3:7). Yet despite this, the Lord grants her honors that man does not possess—compassion, modesty, submission, and above all, the capacity to bear and raise children. The calling and duty of a wife is described by St. John Chrysostom: “The wife is betrothed to her husband for sharing life together, for the bearing and upbringing of children, and for the keeping of the household.” A believing wife, knowing that all things come to pass by God’s will, bears the cross of family life without complaint or grumbling to others, and in all the sorrows of her heart, comforted by the Creator, she weaves for herself in humility and godliness a crown of immortality in the heavens.
A pious wife has a wholesome influence upon her husband, strengthening him in the faith; by her good counsel and care, she instills in her children reverence for God, respect for His holy law, and a love for prayer. How beautiful and touching is the image of a mother or grandmother who, while all others sleep deeply, despite her weariness and ailments, prays with burning tears in the stillness of the night—entreating the Lord, the Sovereign Lady, and the saints for help for her children, and above all, asking that they be preserved in Christian virtue, kept from the abyss of sin and the vanities of this world! The prayer of a mother has great power to move the Lord to mercy. And the Lord surely pours out His grace in response to the fervent prayer of a mother, graciously saying to her: “O woman, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.”
O women, love piety, through which God’s grace is poured out upon the world—bringing happiness and joy, peace and quiet, purity and chastity, faith, hope, and love. Such are the pious Christian women, worthy of imitation—bringing comfort to those around them and being well-pleasing to God.
Women bear into the world the light of divine love, which can conquer even the fear of death. Therefore, let us continually examine our conscience in relation to Christ, remembering the steadfast and unwavering love for the Lord that transformed the fearful Joseph, the secret disciple Nicodemus, and the quiet myrrh-bearing women, who remained faithful to the Lord. Let us honor Christian women who have stood firm in the face of torture, fear, and threats—who remained faithful to Christ and His Church to the very end.
And if in our hearts, brethren, there has not yet been kindled that love for God which overcomes fear, then let us pray to God to grant us that same fiery and invincible love which the holy myrrh-bearing women possessed!