Seventh

"On the first day of the week," Mark 16:2.

That's when the sisters came to complete the embalming of Jesus' corpse. The Sabbath had past. The Sabbath compared to what we call Saturday nowadays. The Law of the old covenant specified the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, as the day of rest when no one could work. It reminded Israel of God's creation, accomplished in six days. Then, the seventh day, he rested. (No, he didn't get tired - he rested, stopped, so as not to create any more.) So, back to the sisters now: Jesus had been buried the day before this particular Sabbath day. And the day after the last day of the week is the first day of the week. (That's the way that works.) The women show up at the tomb but there's no corpse to embalm. First day of the week - Jesus, alive (!), no longer rests in tombs. God's new creation work has begun. (Side bar: We meet on Sundays, not because it's the Sabbath - it is not - but because we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, the first of God's new creation!)

We visit with a brother or sister today in the joy of a new creation. And together we give thanks that God has joined us into a new creation with Jesus.