Friday, August 1, 2025
Proper 12
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
The Sixth Sunday after Trinity
O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers, and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without you, grant us the help of your grace to keep your commandments, that we may please you in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Member of the Sanhedrin and Follower of Jesus
Ecumenical Commemoration
The Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and a secret disciple of Jesus. When Jesus was dead and the disciples had fled, Joseph went openly to Pilate, asked for the body, and laid it in his own new tomb cut from the rock. All four Gospels record the burial, and the tomb he gave is the one the women found empty on the third day. Later ages made him the apostle of Britain and the keeper of the Holy Grail; the Gospels make him braver and plainer than that.
Joseph is introduced in the Passion narratives of all four Gospels. Matthew describes him as 'a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus' (27:57). Mark calls him 'a respectable member of the council, who was also himself waiting for the kingdom of God' (15:43). Luke adds that he was 'a good and righteous man' who had not consented to the Sanhedrin's decision regarding Jesus (23:50–51). John provides additional context: Joseph was 'a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because of his fear of the Jews' (19:38).
All four evangelists agree on the essential facts: Joseph went to Pontius Pilate and requested the body of Jesus. He took the body down from the cross (or arranged for it to be removed), wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb, which had been hewn out of the rock. Matthew notes that he 'rolled a great stone' to the entrance (27:60); Mark and Luke mention that the stone was rolled and the women observed where the body was placed (Mark 15:46–47, Luke 23:53–55).
The canonical accounts emphasize Joseph's social standing (wealthy, a council member) and his courage. That he went to Pilate directly, identified himself as a follower of the condemned man, and provided his own family tomb for Jesus's burial was a remarkable act of public devotion at the moment of maximum danger for disciples of Jesus.
Traditionally, Joseph of Arimathea became the subject of considerable legendary expansion, particularly in the Western Church. A widespread medieval tradition claims that Joseph, having obtained the cup used at the Last Supper (the Holy Grail), traveled to Britain and founded the first Christian community at Glastonbury in Somerset. According to the legend, Joseph planted his walking staff (a thorn) at Glastonbury, which burst into bloom and became the 'Holy Thorn,' said to flower on Christmas Day.
This Glastonbury legend first appears in the writings of William of Malmesbury in the 12th century and was elaborated throughout the medieval period, particularly in Arthurian romance traditions. However, there is no historical evidence whatsoever for Joseph's connection to Britain, and the tradition is a late medieval conflation of biblical Joseph, Arthurian legend, and local Glastonbury mythology.