I Have Seen the Lord
Gospel Reflection for the Tuesday in the Octave of Easter - John 20:11-18
Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”
Today we start the gospel in grief. Mary is weeping, devastated by the crucifixion of Jesus. So profound is her grief that even the presence of angels, who are terrifying enough that they have to announce ‘be not afraid’ when they appear, could not dissuade her from her grief.
She had come to the tomb to be near Jesus. The one who had called her by name and changed the course of her heart and soul.
In distress, searching for Him, she answers the angels. Not but a few moments later she turns around, and a man asks her the same question “Woman, why are you weeping?” Utterly unable to process the man before her it wasn’t until Jesus calls to her “Mary.” that she realizes who was speaking.
In this intimate moment, you can imagine a tear stained Mary, washed in relief as she realizes it is Jesus speaking to her. “Rabboni!” is her reply. She had nearly missed Him because she was so overwhelmed.
It is a beautiful and powerful moment - Jesus and Mary. So often, we look for Jesus in the dramatic, the miraculous and in the unmistakable. Yet there He was, standing right next to Mary - as He stands next to us now.
Still, I want to highlight what happens next.
Jesus tells Mary to go to His brethren. He has called to her, she has found Him, and now He is sending her out with a message.
As we progress into this Easter season, having found the risen Lord in the Eucharist, we are each called to share this Good News. To invite others into this celebratory season, to ask a friend to Mass, or family who came at Easter to return with us again and again. We have a message, one full of life.
That despite the grief we may carry, despite the distractions, despite the cross - Jesus lives and reigns with the Father forever and is always calling out to us.
Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she 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 went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.
Inspiring, encouraging and beautiful!