On
June 22, 2018, 12 members of the Thailand Wild Boar soccer team (ages 11-16)
and their coach (age 25, a former Buddhist monk) entered one of the many cave
networks in Thailand for a quick, relaxing excursion. Then unexpectedly, the torrential rains began
falling while they were underground, and water filled the caverns cutting them
off from their exit and blocking their escape.
After
nine days of being trapped one-half mile below the surface and two miles from
the mouth of the cave, they were found by two British divers who were among the
first responders. According to reports, they were not “panicking, crying,
yelling, or depleting their resources.” Instead, they were found sitting in the
darkness meditating. “Their coach had
taught them to meditate to keep them calm and preserve their energy.”
During
the nearly three-week ordeal with no food or water, they drank sparingly from
the fresh water that trickled from the ceiling. They were tough, resilient athletes
who believed in one another as members of the Wild Boar soccer team.
Parents,
friends, and people from surrounding villages set up prayer shrines and food
centers for the workers, and prayed that the lost would be found – alive!
The
first responders were a mix of a thousand volunteers from across the world
including:
·
60
Thai Navy Seal divers
·
Chinese,
British and Australian cave experts
·
U.
S. military teams
·
Other
teams included translators, oxygen refueling teams, mountain climbing teams, electricity and water management teams,
kitchen teams, and spiritual support teams.
·
Their
equipment consisted of pumps, ropes, oxygen tanks, helicopters, medics, and so much more.
Finally, on July 10, the 18th day, and after three previous days of rescue efforts to remove all the boys, their coach, medics and divers, all were safe and escorted off to a nearby hospital; after which, all water pumps broke and rushing waters filled the caves once again. It was thus written:
“The rescue of Thailand’s Wild Boars’ soccer team and its coach from a flooded cave will be remembered as one of the greatest rescues of all time.”(Ottawa Citizen)
Tonight all our vigil
readings speak to us that our God has always been our eternal, divine first
responder, finder, and redeemer! In our
Gospel this evening, we meet our Easter women who are first responders as well.
As they begin their own early morning “excursion” to the garden cave-like tomb fully expecting to find the dead body of Jesus, they are still walking “ankle deep” in grief and sorrow, reeling from having witnessed the arrest, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus, their friend, leader, and teacher.
They witness to us a determination, a courage, and resilience, much like the Thailand responders, as they carry their simple equipment of fragrant substances – spices, perfumes, and oil to anoint the body of Jesus.
In every Gospel narrative of the Resurrection, it is always women who are the first responders to the tomb. No special teams journey with them to the tomb; no heavy-duty equipment is available to move the rock. These women, with the power of their love, magnanimous faith, trust, and bold spirits are all that is needed to respond.
As we further ponder this Gospel scene, we may ask:
·
At
this early hour, have they considered that they have broken the rules and come
without a male companion?
·
How
were they going to explain their presence to the guards keeping watch as they approached
the tomb?
·
Had
they thought out a plan for the removal of the two-ton rock that had been
rolled across the entrance to the tomb?
Upon approaching the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, and the cohort of guards was no longer present. Moving from the dimness of the early morning light into the darkness of the cave, they soon realized that it was empty and Jesus’ body was gone! (Now we know that Jesus is truly an early riser!)
Confused and somewhat terrified upon discovering that the body of Jesus was gone, they immediately encountered two messengers dressed in dazzling white garments. The blinding blaze from the garments flooded the entire tomb and swiftly flashed outward into the entire cosmos, dispelling Good Friday darkness and kissing all of creation with Easter energy!
The messengers ask the women why they seek the living one in a cemetery, then tell them that Jesus is risen, he is alive; he is loose among them once again! For Jesus breaks all the rules: he disobeys Pilate and the culture of death and illegally rises from the dead.
For no cross can keep
him from loving us!
No sealed tomb can keep
him from loving us!
No experience of death
can keep him from loving us . . .
Called by God to be the first witnesses of the Resurrection, the first disciples of the Easter Good News, and first responders walking into new Easter faith, these women came to grieve, but left with a message that would change the world.
Easter is the celebration of Jesus’ rising and ours as well . . . for we are invited to take up where Jesus left off. Let us recall that we moved from the darkness of the room below this chapel to blazing lights in procession, with our Easter candle illuminating our journey.
This Easter light now
radiates through the pathways of this house and throughout the surrounding land,
dispelling the darkness of our world and blessing it with the brilliance of
Resurrection joy!
Therefore, as we experience life by embracing its joyful and sorrowful mysteries, let us move forward with Easter energy, and respond with Resurrection joy.
·
As
we speak the Good News of truth and spread hope as joyful witnesses – let us
respond with Resurrection joy.
·
As
we stand up with resiliency for justice, goodness, and non-violence – let us
respond with Resurrection joy.
·
Finally,
let us accept and embrace our God’s desire to Easter in us and remove all
stones of fear or resistance from our hearts, minds, and spirits, so that we,
like the women in our Scriptures, may be responders to the power of God’s love raising
us up with a resilient Easter faith and bold spirits that cannot be confined.
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