Women, Loosed

by Kaji Douša | published on Apr 13, 2026

Discussion Questions 

  1. Reread the story of Easter morning as told in Matthew 28:1-10. Then read the devotional below, “Women, Loosed.”   
  1. What good news of Easter Sunday still lingers with you? 
  1. When have you been frozen by fear, or by the fear of being afraid, or by the self-judgment of your own fear? How has God gotten you moving again? 
  1. How does resurrection change the role of fear, as the writer describes it? 

Devotional 

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy. – Matthew 28:8 (as translated by Wilda C. Gafney in A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church: Year A) 

A bunch of us have carried the burden of believing that fear is the opposite of faith. What tends to result is: we feel fear, and then start judging ourselves for having it, as though the presence of fear says something final about the state of our trust in God. 

But fear is part of being alive. Sometimes it is the body’s way of saying, “Pay attention. This matters.” 

Fear can narrow your vision. It can also sharpen it. What matters is whether fear gets to stay in charge. 

That’s part of why the story of Jesus’s resurrection stays with me beyond Easter morning.  

The women named Mary go to the place their fear would have every reason to avoid. They go carrying grief, memory, and love. At the tomb, the ground shakes. The guards collapse. The stone is moved. And the angel speaks directly to the Marys’ fears: “Be not afraid.”  

Then the angel gives them the news that keeps echoing long after that day: “He got up.” 

The Gospel says the Marys leave with fear and great joy. Fear is still there. Joy is there too. But they’re moving now. They’re not pinned in place. Resurrection has entered the scene and changed what fear gets to do. 

I need that. Maybe you do, too. Resurrection is God’s steady way of getting us up. Not once. Not only on Easter. Again and again, whenever fear has had us down too long. 

Prayer
Holy One, meet me inside my fear and keep raising me. Let resurrection move through my life with enough power to loosen what has held me down and set me back on the road with joy. Amen.

Kaji DoušaAbout the Author
Kaji Douša is the Senior Pastor of The Park Avenue Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, in New York City.