"Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18)
Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord!
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Today, in the radiance of Easter joy, the Church remembers those who remained with Christ when the world turned away from Him. We remember the Myrrh-Bearing Women – those whose faith was not loudly proclaimed, but was active; not confessed in words, but sealed with life, tears, love, and faithfulness.
These are not just pages of biblical history. This living, historical presence: Mary Magdalene, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Solome, Joanna, Susanna, and others—those who followed Christ along the dusty roads of Galilee, who served Him from their estates, who stood at the Cross when the apostles fled in fear, who were the first to arrive at the Tomb while it was still dark.
They stood at the Cross—not as heroines, but as grieving mothers, sisters, and disciples. Their hearts were pierced with pain when the Lord was lifted up onto the Tree. They saw everything they had hoped for crumble. And even after the Savior's death, when it seemed all was over, when only despair remained—they did not leave. They went to the Tomb. Without hope. Without a miracle. Only with Love. Only to anoint the body. To remain close, at least, to the Shadows of Christ.
But it was to them—not the apostles, not the high priests, not the philosophers—that the risen Lord first appeared. Why?
Because Love is beyond knowledge.
Because Love is the foundation of faith.
Because Love is beyond even hope.
They didn't believe they would see the Living One—but they didn't stop loving the Dead One. And so they met the Living One.
While Peter wept, Thomas doubted, and the other apostles hid behind doors, the myrrh-bearing women were already preaching the Resurrection.
And even if they weren't listened to. Even if the men brushed them off: "Their words seemed empty to them." But with God, there are no "empty" words, spoken with love and tears.
And so—victory. Christ comes into the upper room, closed by fear. He Himself confirms the message brought by the women. Their truth conquers male unbelief. Their faithfulness breaks down the walls of fear. Their love opens the doors of eternity.
Perhaps we are those apostles who hide in fear of the world? Or are we Thomas, who demands proof? Or perhaps we are myrrh-bearers? Not in strength, not in knowledge, not in loud confession, but in daily, patient, loving fidelity.
And so, even now, someone stands at the crucified Body—in the form of a ruined temple, a blasphemed priesthood, persecuted Orthodoxy. Someone goes to the Tomb—when faith seems dead and prayer unanswered. Someone carries myrrh—when the heart is exhausted, but love has not faded.
When the world rejects the truth, when even within the Church itself there is pain, division, scandal, weakness—you remain. Because Christ is not somewhere "above," but here—in the Mystery of the Church. And you do not leave. You stay—not for proof, not for a miracle, but because you love.
The myrrh-bearing women are an image of spiritual courage. They are the motherhood of faith. This is tenderness transformed into confession.
Today the Church says to every soul: be a myrrh-bearer. Do not be afraid to go to the Tomb. Do not be afraid to remain close when all have departed. Do not fear love, which is stronger than death.
Let each of us take one thing from this week:
When everything collapses, when there is nothing, Love remains. And this Love reveals the Resurrection.
Amen.