Tuesday within the Octave of Easter – John 20:11-18
Today Mary Magdalene is outside of Jesus’ tomb weeping. However, this section of the Gospel is only a
segment of the full story. While it was
still dark, Mary had come to Jesus’ tomb. When Mary arrived at the tomb, the stone had
been rolled away. How had this happened?
Mary bent over and looked into the tomb.
To her great surprise, there were two
angels in the tomb! The angels were
sitting at the head and the feet of where Jesus’ body had been.
The angels asked Mary why she was weeping. She told them
that someone had taken Jesus’ body away and she did not know where they had
taken it. As she turned around to leave
the tomb, Jesus stood before her, but she did not recognize him. Jesus then asked Mary: “Why are you weeping?”
Mary assumed this man was the gardener. He
surely would know where Jesus’ body had been taken. Mary begged him to tell her where Jesus was
laid. At that moment, Jesus simply and
lovingly spoke her name. He uttered only one word: “Mary.” Instantly Mary’s eyes and heart were opened. She realized that Jesus was standing before
her.
How often have we gone looking for Jesus? At times, we also have been desperate to find
Jesus and experience his presence and care. At times, life often is more than we can
handle on our own. Yes, we can and
should depend on the people who care about us; however, we also need to
experience the peace and reassurance of Jesus and his love and care.
Today Jesus will call us by name. Then Jesus will wait for us to reply. Will our minds and hearts be open and
listening deeply enough to hear Jesus’ call? Or will we be too busy to hear his call? What a horrible loss that would be! Today may we strive to keep our hearts alert
and attentive and our ears open!
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