RE Verse reading–Mark 15:40-16:8 (day four)
“In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs.” The spirit within a man fears isolation. Part of what it means to be fully human is to live and move in a social context. From estrangement from family to solitary confinement to shunning by a community, isolation sets a person at the terrifying edge of the abyss of loneliness. God is the only person who will never lose track of you. Even in the midst of abandonment by friends, followers, and hangers-on—even as in the Pharisees’ eyes he became a pariah—Jesus knew God’s provision. Food, clothing, local arrangements for lodging—these women took seriously their privilege of caring for this man. At some point, “God with us” must manifest as “friends with us.” We can go to extraordinary lengths in excruciating circumstances if we know we’re not alone.
