John 20:1-2, 11-18

Song of Songs 3:1-4b or 2 Corinthians 5:14-17

Psalm 62:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

John 20:1-2, 11-18

On the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,

while it was still dark,

and saw the stone removed from the tomb.

So she ran and went to Simon Peter

and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,

and we don't know where they put him.”

Mary 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 Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,

“I have seen the Lord,”

and then reported what he told her.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I seek you with all my heart. Cast out from my heart whatever keeps me from you. You are my true beloved. I will listen to your Word and do my best to discern your holy will. Thy will be done in my life!

Encountering the Word of God

1. Mary’s First Announcement: When Mary Magdalene first visited the tomb of Jesus, she was disappointed by what she found. When she saw the empty tomb, she thought not that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day as Jesus had predicted, but that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. Mary returned to the place where the apostles were, likely the upper room where the Last Supper happened, and announced to them what she saw and what her hypothesis was: “The first announcement that Mary makes is not one of the Resurrection, but of a theft perpetrated by persons unknown while all Jerusalem slept” (Francis, May 17, 2017). She wanted Peter and John to go and find the stolen body: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” The First Reading, from the Song of Songs, characterizes the longing of Mary to see her beloved Lord: “The Bride says: On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves – I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings, I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought him but did not find him” (Song of Songs 3:1-2)

2. Mary’s Personal Encounter with the Risen Jesus: When Mary returned to the tomb a second time, she stayed while the other disciples returned home. She was overcome with sadness and wept. When we looked in the tomb, she saw two angels and they asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Earlier, Mary spoke about the Lord being taken and that we don’t know where his body is. Now, she speaks about her personal relationship: “They have taken my Lord,

and I don't know where they laid him.” “The shift to the singular pronouns indicates that Mary now speaks of her own relationship with Jesus and what these events mean to her personally. Like the beloved in the Song of Songs, who searches for her love, she asks the angelic watchmen: ‘Him whom my soul loves – have you seen him?’ (Song 3:3)” (Martin and Wright, The Gospel of John, 336). In her initial encounter with the angels in the tomb, “John the Evangelist stresses how persistent her blindness is. She does not notice the presence of the two angels who question her, and she does not become suspicious even when she sees the man behind her, whom she believes is the custodian of the garden. Instead, she discovers the most overwhelming event in the history of mankind when she is finally called by her name: ‘Mary!’” (Francis, May 17, 2017). As the Bride in the Song of Songs proclaims: “I had hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves” (Song of Songs 3:4).

3. Mary’s Second Announcement: Mary’s personal encounter with the risen Jesus leads to her second announcement to the disciples: “I have seen the Lord!” She now has a mature faith in the risen Jesus. “Mary has progressed from being ‘in the dark,’ fixated on the reality of Jesus’ death, to belief that Jesus has been raised. And the risen Jesus has brought her to a higher level of relationship, for his disciples can relate to him no longer only as a teacher but also as the Lord himself, who is simultaneously their ‘brother’” (Martin and Wright, The Gospel of John, 338). Mary originally sought the dead body of Jesus, but she eventually found his living and glorified body. She could not continue to hold on to her old relationship with Jesus, but had to learn to relate to him in a new way. Jesus would be ascending to the Father, and now he reigns at the Father’s right hand and intercedes for all of us as our high priest.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have given your Church a marvelous example in Mary of Magdala. She welcomed you into her life and, in turn, dedicated all she had and was to you and your disciples. May I follow her example and seek you as my beloved.

Living the Word of God: Our relationship with Jesus has probably had stages similar to Mary’s experience. Like Mary, we first experienced the liberating effect of Jesus’ grace. But there were also subsequent moments of darkness, doubt, and fear. In those moments, it seemed like the Lord was absent, and we didn’t know where to find him. Like Mary, we had to see Jesus as more than a good teacher or Rabbi. We had to grow more deeply in our relationship with Jesus, who is our Lord, our Bridegroom Redeemer, and our Brother. Can I take some time in prayer to reflect on the stages of my relationship with God and his Son? How is my relationship today, and what do I look forward to in the future?