“It was Mary of Magdala, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and their companions….” Luke 24:10

There were more than three women there at the tomb in the early dawn of the first day of the week.  Three were named, but there were others—those simply identified as companions. Earlier in the account of Jesus’s death, Luke records that a group of women accompanied Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem, witnessed his execution, and followed Joseph of Arimathea to the burial place so they would know where to find the body after the Sabbath. Names are not given to any of this group until after the realization that the tomb was empty. The companions are with the two Marys and Joanna through all of this. 

More than three. A group. A collective. A community.

Companions are friends who accompany, who travel with. The term implies common experience and support on the journey. When you have a companion, you are not alone.

This band of women had shared so much of Jesus’s life and teaching, and they remained together and faithful through his ordeal, arrest, execution, and death. A community of support during challenges and grief, uncertainty, and danger bolsters courage and supports the heart. What they had shared together no doubt deepened the bonds of their companionship.

Also, that meant that others experienced shared in hearing the words of the angels and the realization of what the absence of the body truly meant. There were more than just three women who came to comprehend this remarkable reality that morning: a group came to understanding, faith, and belief in the resurrection that morning. There is strength in numbers.

Who are your companions on the journey?

Who do you share your faith and Risen Life with as you grow and follow Jesus?

With whom do you share your prayers, your heart, and your faith?

How are you a companion for others? Who needs your accompaniment as they travel in their faith and life? Their grief and their joys? Who needs you to affirm their believing?

Prayer:  Holy One, thank you for the ones who encircle me in my spiritual life and discipleship.  Thank you for companions and community. Help me to be a faithful companion to others, offering support, prayer, love, and friendship. Alleluia. Amen.

_{Photo: National Gallery of Ireland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons}