Scripture
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
John 20:13
Reflection
All the evangelists tell the story of Mary Magdalen, the first to announce the resurrection. Let us walk with Mary on this Easter Sunday. We really don’t know much about the apostles and followers of Jesus on the Saturday after the crucifixion. It is an empty time, a lost day. We do know that Mary sat outside the tomb weeping, overcome with loss.
Today, many in our world are weeping and overcome with loss. Many are feeling alone and lonely.
We know that Mary encounters the risen Jesus and doesn’t recognize him. Jesus calls her by name and her eyes are opened Jesus then tells her not to cling to him. It seems like a strange request and its meaning is layered and complex. In some ways, he was saying do not cling to the image you have had of me; I am a new creation. Through my sacrificial death, I have passed from fear to freedom.
Jesus gives us a model of sacrificial love which leads not to death but to life.
During this time of fear and loss, as well as many examples of heroic self-sacrifice, we too are asked, like Mary Magdalen, to go to our brothers and sisters with the good news that love overcomes death.
Practice
Today is a day to bring Christ’s love, like Mary, to our brothers and sisters. Today is a day when we can say “Alleluia” in spite of all that is being asked of us. Reach out to someone today to bring Christ’s love in whatever way you can.
Sr. Joan Scanlon, O.P., Coordinator of Dominican Ministries