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Gospel: John 20: 11-18
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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According to John’s Gospel, this is Mary Magdalene’s second trip to the empty tomb.
First, she went under the cover of darkness. She saw the stone removed, then ran and told Peter and John, “They have taken the Lord, and we don’t know where they put him.”
Then she returns with John and Peter a second time. Ironically, after John and Peter see the empty tomb, they “return home.”
Sometime later, Peter goes fishing.
But Mary stays and weeps.
This is where we find her in today’s Gospel, stuck in her grief.
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When Jesus appears to her and asks, “Whom are you looking for?”, she cries out tearfully, “They have taken my Lord.”
Mary is looking for a dead Jesus.
Although he’s standing right in front of her, Mary has yet to make the leap of faith from Good Friday to Easter Sunday.
What inspires the change within her is not “seeing” Jesus, but hearing his voice. Here the Lord reinforces his identity as the Good Shepherd, who seeks and saves what was lost.
“My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me,” he says.
We can imagine Mary lunging at her shepherd’s feet, as if she’s trying to keep Jesus firmly planted here on earth. So, the Lord rebukes her gently, saying, “Stop holding onto me. I am going to my Father and to your Father.”
Mary must accept that the world is not Christ’s “home.” Nor is it ultimately ours. We are destined for more, and are invited to embrace this truth, in particular, as we mourn the death of Pope Francis.
Just as Mary Magdalene once did, Francis has made his way to our Father’s house. He has competed well; he has run the race to the finish; he has kept the faith.
May he rest from his labors.
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And may Christ fill our hearts with Easter joy, for he is truly risen! Alleluia!
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Image credits: (1) JW.org (2) Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene After the Resurrection, Alexander Ivanov (3) The Best is Yet to Come, BSLC