Main Thought:
Today we remember Joanna, Mary, and Salome, women who went to the tomb of Jesus and announced the good news of His resurrection. The world, symbolized here by the majestic mountains of Bashan (in Syria), look with contempt on God’s mountain, the Church. However weak God’s people look, it is our Lord’s strength on which we count.
Psalm 68:9-18
Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
“The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.
Prayer
Glory and praise and honor belong to You, Lamb of God, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, and have led our captivity captive. Pour out Your Spirit upon the dry soil of our hearts that He may cause faith and love to spring up in them and to bring fruit unto eternal life. Amen.
A prayer for the Commemoration of Joanna, Mary, and Salome
Mighty God, Your crucified and buried Son did not remain in the tomb for long. Give us joy in the tasks set before us, that we might carry out faithful acts of service as did Joanna, Mary, and Salome, offering to You the sweet perfume of our grateful hearts, so that we, too, may see the glory of Your resurrection and proclaim the Good News with unrestrained eagerness and fervor worked in us through our Lord Jesus Christ, who rose and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.