ACC ~ Mark 16 v9 - 13

OVERVIEW:

The disciples did not recognize the risen Lord, even when he was visibly walking with them on the way, because they had forgotten his promises. Until the breaking of bread their eyes were obstructed not by the risen Lord but by their own lack of perception (AUGUSTINE). Resurrection day, the first day of the week, is set apart as the mark of new beginnings, analogous to the first day of creation (ISIDORE OF SEVILLE). As a woman (Eve) was first to taste death, so a woman (Mary Magdalene) was first to taste life. As a woman was prescient in the fall, so a woman was prescient in beholding the dawning of redemption, thus reversing the curse upon Eve. The first to testify to the risen Lord was a woman from whom he had cast out seven demons (BEDE).

16:9a | He Rose Early on the First Day of the Week

THE THREE DAYS

IGNATIUS: The day of preparation, then, comprises the suffering death, the Sabbath embraces the burial, the Lord’s day contains the resurrection. TO THE TRALLIANS 9. [1]

[1] TLG 1443.002, 2.9.6.1-2; ANF 1:70. The first day of the week is the day after the Passover sabbath. In this way there were three days.

ON KEEPING EASTER

UNKNOWN GREEK AUTHOR OF THE FIFTH CENTURY: This is the day which the Lord has made: let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing. [1] Why should we do so? Because the sun is no longer darkened; instead everything is bathed in light. Because the veil of the temple is no longer rent; instead the Church is recognized. Because we no longer hold palm branches; instead we carry the newly enlightened. … This is the day in the truest sense: the day of triumph, the day custom consecrates to the resurrection, the day on which we adorn ourselves with grace, the day on which we partake of the spiritual lamb. This is the day on which milk is given to those born again, and on which God’s plan for the poor is realized. Let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing, not by running off to the taverns, but by hastening to the martyrs’ shrines; not by esteeming drunkenness, but by loving temperance; not by dancing in the marketplace, but by singing psalms at home. … This is the day on which Adam was set free and Eve delivered from her affliction. It is the day on which cruel death shuddered, the strength of hard stones was shattered and destroyed, the bars of tombs were broken and set aside. It is the day on which the bodies of people long dead were restored to their former life and the laws of the underworld, hitherto ever powerful and immutable, were repealed. It is the day on which the heavens were opened at the rising of Christ the Lord, and on which, for the good of the human race, the flourishing and fruitful tree of the resurrection sent forth branches all over the world, as if the world were a garden. It is the day on which the lilies of the newly enlightened sprang up, the streams that sustained sinners ran dry, the strength of the devil drained away and demonic armies were scattered. EASTER HOMILIES 51.1-3. [2]

[1] Cf. Ps 118:24.

[2] JF B 88-89; SC 187, 318-22.

WHY THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS SET APART

ISIDORE OF SEVILLE: The sacredness of the Lord’s Day is apparent from the holy Scripture. This was the first day of the world. On this day the elements of the creation were formed. On this day the angels were created. On this day Christ rose from the dead. On this day the Holy Ghost came down from heaven on the apostles. On this same day the manna in the wilderness was first given. ON THE ORIGIN OF ECCLESIASTICAL OFFICES 1.24. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 1207, 1.25..6; GMI 444-45. Thus resurrection day, the first day of the week, is set apart, according to the Christian sanctification of time, as the time of new beginnings comparable to the first day of creation, the day of Pentecost and the receiving of bread from heaven by the people of the exodus.

16:9b | He First Appeared to Mary Magdalene, from Whom He Had Cast Out Seven Demons

THE FALLEN WOMAN FIRST TO SEE THE RISEN LORD

BEDE: A woman [1] first tasted death, but in Magdalene woman first saw the resurrection, that woman might not bear the perpetual guilt of transgression among men. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL OF MARK 4.16.9-10. [2]

[1] Eve.

[2] Cetedoc 1355, 4.16.1860; CCL 120:643; GC 1:443. Woman was first to taste the fall and first to behold the resurrection.

THE FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT COMES BY WOMAN

BEDE: It was also a woman who first announced to the disciples that the Lord had come forth from the confinement of the grave, [1] so that “where sin abounded grace might more abound.” [2] COMMENTARY ON ACTS 12.13. [3]

[1] Cf. Mk 16:10; Jn 20:18.

[2] Cf. Rom 5:20.

[3] Cetedoc 1357, 12.52; CAA 113. Eve was first to taste death; Mary Magdalene was the first to taste life.

16:12 | As They Were Walking into the Country He Appeared in Another Form to Two of Them

THEIR IMPEDED RECOGNITION

AUGUSTINE: It seems as if some impediment to recognition had been effected in the eyes of those who beheld him; and when it is plainly said elsewhere: “He appeared to them in another shape” [1] —obviously in his own body with another appearance—some effect was produced which acted as an impediment to prevent them, that is, their eyes were subjected to a delay in recognition. LETTER 149, TO PAULINUS. [2]

[1] Mk 16:12; Lk 24:16.

[2] Cetedoc 0262, 149.44.3.377.2; FC 20:263. An inward obstruction of their vision may have delayed their external recognition.

16:13 | They Did Not Believe Him

THE DIMNESS OF THEIR PERCEPTION

AUGUSTINE: Their eyes were obstructed, that they should not recognize him until the breaking of the bread. And thus, in accordance with the state of their minds, which were still ignorant of the truth (that the Christ would die and rise again), their eyes were similarly hindered. It was not that the truth himself was misleading them, but rather that they were themselves unable to perceive the truth. [1] HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS 3.25.72. [2]

[1] Cf. Lk 24:13-32.

[2] Cetedoc 0273, 3.25.72.371.21; NPNF 1 6:217*.

WHY RECOGNITION CAME HARD

AUGUSTINE: Jesus appeared; he was visible to their eyes, yet he was not recognized. The master walked with them on the way; in fact, he was the way on which they were not yet walking; but he found that they had wandered some distance from the way. For when he was with them before his passion, he had foretold all—that he would suffer, that he would die, that he would rise again on the third day—he had predicted all; but his death was as a loss of memory for them. They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind. SERMON 235.1. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0284, 235.67.138.19; FC 38:228.