by Lucine Boloyan
At the beginning of October, I had the privilege of attending the Myrrhbearing Women Pilgrimage Retreat hosted by Axia Women. As someone who has grown up in the Armenian Orthodox Church, this event fulfilled a desire of mine to create community with fellow Orthodox women. Over three days, we walked the path of Jesus’ ministry from Galilee to Judea through the lens of the myrrhbearing women, who included Mary the Theotokos, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany, and others. In addition to following Christ throughout His life, these women witnessed His crucifixion, anointed His body for burial (hence the term “myrrhbearers”), and were the first to see His empty tomb and proclaim the Good News of His resurrection. It was an honor to learn how to bear their humility and grace as we follow our Lord, who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).
One of the presentations given by guest speakers Dr. Roberta Ervine and Arpi Nakashian of St. Nersess Armenian Seminary challenged me to practice being a myrrhbearing woman on the retreat. Dr. Ervine explained that, at the time of Jesus’ ministry, there were four working philosophies about how to deal with a bad situation or corrupt government in Israel. Each of Jesus’ followers, including the myrrhbearing women, came from one of the following Jewish sects: The were the Zealots, a militant group in opposition to the Romans; the Sadducees were a small elite group of upper-class priests and their families who didn’t believe they needed a savior; the Pharisees were dedicated to preserving Jewish law; finally, the Essenes were a group focused on prayer, prophecy, and sharing wealth among their community. Amid political turmoil, Jesus comes on the scene and offers an alternative way to deal with a bad situation – Himself. In Mark 12:29-31, He instructs His followers to choose love instead of hate, forgiveness instead of vengefulness, and repentance instead of self-centeredness:
“The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. There is no other commandment greater than these”.
Jesus’ commandments must have been a tall order for the disciples, including for the myrrhbearing women. I can only imagine that as they were walking with Christ, they must have been thinking about how contrary this teaching was to their own philosophies. What do you mean we have to love our neighbor? What if I don’t agree with my neighbor? What if my neighbor is hateful? Probably to their dismay, Jesus offers no qualifications to this love. Just love.
While I was having lunch with a fellow retreat pilgrim after this presentation, we ended up having a discussion about immigration. Over the course of our conversation, we learned that we had different philosophies about how to resolve this complex topic. Just like the myrrhbearing women, we diverged in our beliefs about how to deal with a difficult situation. Convicted by the lecture given just a few minutes before, we realized that our God calls us to a higher way of approaching this subject – Himself. Above all, I am called to love my neighbor--my fellow myrrhbearing woman across the table–regardless of whether I agree with her. I am called to walk alongside her, toward Christ, as I wrestle with this multifaceted issue.
At the end of the retreat, this same woman came up to me and said, “Lucine, my new friend”. While the philosophies of our day tempt me to stay within the comfort of those with whom I agree, Jesus asks me to follow Him alongside others with whom I may disagree. He calls us myrrhbearing women to come together to wrestle with challenging ideas, while at the same time honoring each other’s dignity and value as daughters of God. This is certainly a tall order, but just as the myrrhbearing women of Jesus’ time chose humility and grace in the midst of political turmoil, I believe God is also asking me to do the same. I am grateful that the Axia Myrrhbearing Women Pilgrimage Retreat reminded me that unity and strength are found in the body of Christ.
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).