By Beth DeCristofaro
(Mary) turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not
know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her,
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are
you looking for?” She thought it was the
gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid
him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to
her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him
in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on
to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am
going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene
went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported
what he told her. (John 20:14-18)
Piety
Jesus, you made
Mary Magdalen the first witness to your Resurrection. May we learn to
love as she did and always give you first place in our hearts. Let our encounters
with you change us into faith-filled witnesses so we can proclaim with Mary, “I
have seen the Lord.” (Catholic Archdiocese
of Brisbane, Australia) http://www.wydbrisbane.org.au/data/portal/00005057/0000/005/121/content/75328001191218028171.pdf )
Study
So how could Mary
possibly not recognize Jesus with whom, tradition has it, with whom she
traveled and served during his ministry?
Perhaps in rising He was so transformed so that he was
unrecognizable. Maybe it was the dark of
the early morning that hid his face.
Could her weeping have blocked her vision? Or that her preconceived notions of death,
loss and permanence obscured the new reality and Truth from her.
Actually, in all of
those possibilities I see myself and how I have not always been able to
perceive God’s presence in my life. Not
recognizing the resurrection in someone who has hurt me or who acted “wrongly,”
I have continued to judge or give a cold-shoulder treatment. There have been many periods of my life in which
I experienced darkness, acted on my own impatience and made questionable
choices. In times of sorrow I have cried
“Why me?” Both prejudice and an attitude
of complete righteousness about things have led me to be less loving that I
might have been.
But Mary’s eyes
were opened and her joy returned when she heard her name on Jesus’ divine
lips. She did not let her moment of
impaired vision slow her down to witness and proclaim that Jesus was
risen. Mary gives me the hope that I too
can proceed forward from my sightless moments and stand again with Jesus,
knowing he is always present.
Action
A Baptist Minister,
a friend of mine, says “If only people would read the Bible everyone would get
along.” I believe that if everyone would
look for God in themselves and others we would all get along. Say a prayer for those who cannot acknowledge
God is loving and present so they act out of their own blindness and
self-interest. Say a prayer for God’s peace
to be revealed and confessed for those caught in and those causing conflict in
the world.
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