And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.
-Luke 24:11
The Apostles refused to believe Joanna and the Marys who came back to them from the empty tomb. Why was that? Didn’t they know Lazarus? Hadn’t they been witness to those who Messiah had resurrected? Why was His resurrection so unbelievable to them? I think I can make a case for their reticence to believe, but that is beyond the scope of this meditation.
The underlying cause is that they limited what the Almighty could do.
They likely saw this vessel for the Divine on earth, who they followed for years, as the conquering Kingly Messiah. They thought his role was spiritual and political, that he would not be stopped by any earthly force because he was the Messiah. Even in the face of telling them he would soon die and be raised again, they couldn’t accept it. I think that’s because they couldn’t let go of their understanding of how the Messiah was to function. They let expectations blind them to possibilities that amazed and delighted them, once they had no choice but to accept them as the reality they witnessed before them.
I want to learn to set aside my expectations and be amazed by what is instead of pining for what could have been.
MJ Muñoz 