The Myrrhbearers

Resurrection, the Promise of Renewal and the Women at the Tomb

The Women Going to the Sepulchre, Robert Anning Bell, 1912. Mother Mary leads the procession of myrrh-bearing women to Jesus’ tomb, with Mary Magdalene amongst them (identifiable by her characteristic long red hair and her alabaster jar).

Good morning folks, on this Easter Sunday. I hope this piece finds your home warm, your heart accompanied, belly full and fingers sticky with hot cross buns or whatever it is you like to feast on.

This day is one of the most important events in the Judeo-Christian worldview, the basis of modern western culture.

And so it gets me thinking. Mulling over the origin stories. Re-imagining what they may have meant then, and might begin to mean now if we listen to them with an older ear.

What happens when we approach the Biblical stories as myths?

I don’t mean as something untrue - as unfortunately the word “myth” tends to imply in most contexts - but as a traditional story that gives voice to the origins of a people, a culture, and a worldview.

When approached through the mythic imagination, the stories in the Bible come alive. They speak to the Soul and stir a deep bone knowing.