By St. John of Kronstadt
Today the Gospel was read about the burial of the dead and life-giving body of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea, about the journey of the Myrrhbearing women with spices to the Holy Sepulcher to anoint the body of Christ, and about the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ from the Angel sitting in the tomb. There is an instructive lesson to be learned from this present Gospel for men and women, rich and poor, high and low.
The rich and noble Joseph serves as a good example of faith and zeal for Christ for all the rich and noble, who even now can demonstrate in various ways, prove their faith and zeal for Christ spiritually or materially, although not to Him personally, but to His members, the lesser brethren, the poor and unfortunate, the sick and ailing, immersed in ignorance and vices, dying in squalor and poverty.
The Myrrhbearers serve as a good example of the zeal and ardor of love for Christ for all women, who even now can, in various ways, according to their strength, means and circumstances, express their ardent love for Christ who died and rose again, with various virtues, for example: sympathy and condolences for the mourning, fidelity to one’s Christian and family responsibilities, charity to the poor, etc.
Joseph with Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, and the Myrrhbearing women served Christ God a little and for a short time and inherited eternal life, eternal blessedness for little labor, and are eternally blessed on earth for their zeal and love for Christ. Such is the power and glory of virtue! She lives forever and is forever glorified, while unrepentant vice and lawlessness are given over to eternal torment and eternal shame and damnation.
For example - Judas the traitor, who, because of the love of money, betrayed his Lord to the lawless and ungrateful Jews; then, an example of this are the high priests themselves, the elders and learned people of the Jews - the scribes and Pharisees.
Oh, the absurd love of money that corrupted and destroyed the soul of the former disciple of Christ and wonderworker!
Oh, the blind envy and hatred of the leaders and scholars of the Jews, who did not recognize the Lord of glory and the greatest Benefactor and gave themselves over to unimaginably terrible suffering and a painful and blasphemous death!
Oh, kind, compassionate and grateful souls of Joseph and Nicodemus and the holy women! With what love you served the Stranger Lord, who came into His own and was not accepted by His own, the Son of the beginningless Father, who created everything and rules everything and for the sake of His immeasurable love wanted to save everyone! The Church worthily blesses you in all ages! All pious Christians of all times have remembered you with love and wonder and, of course, will remember and glorify you until the end of the world.
Let us, brothers and sisters, do good to all while there is time (Gal. 6:10), and we can do it, and in every way avoid dishonorable, shameful sins and passions, which dishonor and destroy us forever. Let us love Christ as He loved us, let us love one another. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.