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Gospel: John 20: 11-19
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.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Mary Magdalene loves Jesus so much.
Although she thinks he’s dead, she cannot focus on anyone else. As soon as the Sabbath breaks, she rushes to the garden to anoint his body, her eyes overflowing with tears.
She has cried so much over the last three days, that she doesn’t even realize she’s speaking to angels inside the Lord’s tomb!
“Woman, why are you weeping?” they say to her. “They’ve taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.”
Mary doesn’t even have to say his name. There’s no one else on her mind. Only Jesus.
***
Even after the Risen Lord appears to her, Mary mistakes him for a gardener. “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”
As if Mary is strong enough to lift the Lord’s body on her own and carry him away. Her plans are illogical, driven not by reason, but by love.
“I will take him away.”
***
After speaking to the “gardener,” Mary turns her back on Jesus and re-focuses her eyes on the tomb.
Here’s where most people can identify with her.
When we lose a loved one, often our eyes turn back to the grave, to what was, not to what will be.
But, in the words of Saint Paul, “Brothers and sisters, if then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above… not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God… So you too will appear with him in glory.”
This Easter season, may the reality of the empty tomb take deeper root in our hearts, leading us to everlasting peace.
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Image credits: (1) Mary Magdalene at the Sepulcher, Harold Copping (2) These Mountains We Climb (3) St. Gabriel Catholic Elementary, Burlington, ON
Sorry, I could not copy and paste the image from this. I always appreciate so much the art work you choose for your reflections. I thought you might appreciate this one! I tried to copy and paste here, but didn’t seem to allow it!
The author is a newly ordained (delayed vocation) priest in England. He was a former employee of Sotheby’s and does a daily post using very nice and impactful pieces of art.
Here is the source: Christian Art
From:
info@christian.art
Thank you for the time and effort you put into your reflections. They do make a difference and have an impact.
Blessings on your Easter Season.
Jim
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John 20:11-18
Easter Tuesday – Mary Magdalene saw two angels
The Angels hovering over the body of Christ in the Sepulchre,
Painted by William Blake (1757-1827),
Painted in 1805,
Watercolour, pen and ink on paper
© Victoria & Albert Museum, London / Alamy
Gospel Reading
Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
Reflection on the watercolour on paper
Our Gospel passage today mentions the two angels who greeted Mary upon her arrival at the tomb. Our watercolour shows these two angels watching over Jesus before he rose from the dead. William Blake (1757-1827) painted over 80 watercolours of subjects from the Bible. Where the feet of both angels are situated is where they are sitting when Mary Magdalene arrives: at the top and feet of where Jesus laid, as per our Gospel reading. The imagery of this drawing is taken from a description in the Book of Exodus. When the prophet Moses is alone on Mount Sinai, God tells him to instruct the Israelites to make a ‘mercy seat’ flanked by cherubim (angels) all made of gold (Exodus 25: 20: And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be’). The continued description of the angels in the Book of Exodus is the source for Blake’s design here. Where the angels’ heads meet there sparks a burst of light. They have folded hands. The angels themselves, in our drawing composition, look almost like a giant pair of prayerful hands, where just the tips of the wings or our fingers would meet. The composition also looks almost like a keyhole… the resurrection being the key to our Christian lives.
To the question, ‘Why are you weeping?’ Mary Magdalene can only answer, ‘They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him’.Into that deep grief of Mary steps the risen Lord. Initially, Mary’s grief blinds her to his presence; she mistakes him for the gardener. When we are grieving the loss of a loved one, we don’t always recognize the Lord’s presence to us initially. Our grief can overwhelm us and isolate us. But Jesus is always there, especially in our darkest moments. He comes to us as he came to Mary to bring light to our darkness and to proclaim the triumph of life over death.
Mary became the first and primary preacher of the gospel. This is the Easter gospel that continues to be proclaimed to us through her. The risen Lord is always in a deeply personal relationship with us, even in those times when we feel we have drifted from him or when we don’t feel his presence. He doesn’t drift from us.
by Father Patrick van der Vorst
Thanks, Jim! Happy Easter!