Luke 24: 9-11
Disinformation can be defined as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.”
The women go to the tomb early Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus whom they saw brutally crucified right before them. They are grieving. At the tomb, they find the stone rolled away, the body gone, and two “angels” who said that Jesus had risen. They were in shock. The women returned to the others and reported. “Nonsense” or disinformation from hysterical women?
9 When they came back from the tomb,
they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 1
1 But they did not believe the women,
because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
We have here several women returning from the tomb, reporting that the body is missing or risen. The others of their group though, did not believe them for they were women, unreliable witnesses! It sounded like nonsense.
The word “disinformation” makes us think of Jan. 6 and our present cultural battle over what happened at the event and who is to blame. Both explanations of the happenings are accusing the other versions or explanation of the event as disinformation. Why? Is it because they do not believe they are reliable witnesses? I am not taking sides here but I am pointing out that the dynamic of the Biblical story is not unique. Matthew 28 goes further to say that at the same time as the women return to the apostles and are not believed, the guards sent to guard the tomb are returning to Jerusalem and reporting to the chief priests what happened. Matthew says they were paid “a large sum of money” to spread the story that the disciples had come in the night and stolen the body. Oh my, stories are flying and who is telling the truth?
It feels awfully similar to “disinformation” claims being thrown around today. The women, the guards, and the apostles are deliberate in their stories and are trying to convince others of their version of reality. There is a public explanation of a public event that is being fought over. I see two elements in the Jan 6 and the resurrection story: the credibility of the event and the credibility of the reporters. Peter and John immediately leave to check out a story that sounds like nonsense.
Perhaps you are a “believer” in the resurrection for you have 2000 years of religious history to confirm your belief. Perhaps you are a “believer” because you too have had an encounter with the divine. Who you believe and what you believe is crucial to the values that guide your life. May we pray today to be a believable witness to our faith and not sound like nonsense to others! Blessings as you share.
On the Way to Wonder 