APPEARANCE TO MARY OF MAGDALA

John 20:11-18

The Appearance to Mary of Magdala

A drunk man came from a bar and was combing the area around an electric post. A curious passerby asked what he was doing. “I am looking for my key,” replied the man. The passerby joined the search. Another man also passed by and joined the two in turning over leaves, stones, etc. one of them asked the drunk man: “Where did you really lose your key?” Pointing to the bar, he replied: “There!” And why are we looking at it here?” he shouted. “Because there is light here!” was the response of the drunk man.

 Mary Magdalene’s love for Jesus in the gospel was so strong that it urged her to follow him even to the tomb and she was disturbed when she did not find his body there. She wanted to see Him once more, to touch Him, to anoint Him.

But, like the drunk man, Mary of Magdala searched for Jesus in the tomb. Jesus, however, could no longer be found in the tomb, because the tomb symbolized emptiness, darkness and death. Jesus was no longer dead. He was alive! He has risen! Definitely she was not looking for the Risen Lord in the right place. Many people too in their search for the Risen Lord cannot find Him because they look for Him in wrong places.

The gospel tells us that once Mary turned her gaze away from the tomb, she saw Jesus and recognized Him when He called her name, “Mary!” And she exclaimed in joy “Rabboni!” At first she did not recognize Him because her eyes were full of tears. Secondly, she was always staring at the ‘empty tomb’ instead of facing the one whom she thought took away the Lord’s corpse!

After recognizing him, Mary was sent by the Risen Lord. She is first woman-missionary. She was credible because she has seen the Lord. It is not knowing about Jesus, not cleverly arguing about the Risen Lord! What she experienced was: She met the Risen Lord! Her faithful love merits for her a new role, a new mission: to immediately proclaim to others what she has seen: the Lord, risen, the Lord alive!

You and me, by our baptism, are Jesus’ missionaries. How credible are we? Can we also say: “I have seen the Lord!” Most of time we are like the drunk man looking for the key at a wrong place, when we think happiness is outside our communities, because inside rules are so heavy. We want to run away from the obligations of our vows. The Lord tells us today we are searching him in a wrong place, the apparent light of this world seduces us and like the drunk man this is where we want to go and search. He is not there. Turn to him he will identify himself to you and empower you as missionary.

It is the Risen Lord Himself who calls us back reminding us of our mission to announce His resurrection as He did to Mary of Magdala. “Mary…go to my brothers and tell them…”the Mission to announce the Risen Lord and be witnesses of His resurrection for us starts with genuine love through repentance and forgiveness.