had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She answered, “Because they have taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have put him.”
As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize
him. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She thought
it was the gardener and answered him, “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you
have put him, and I will go and take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned, and said
to him, “Rabboni!”—which means Master. Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have
not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my
Father, who is your Father, to my God, who is your God.” So Mary of Magdala went and
announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me.”
Reflect
“Seeing with faith.” Among the three characters found in the resurrection narrative of
John 20:1-18 namely Peter, the disciple whom Jesus loved and Mary of Magdala.
It was Mary also called the Magdalene who would, in the end, proclaim that she has
seen the Lord. Mary Magdalene was able to pass through the stages from seeing with human
eyes to seeing with faith. She went to the tomb at the very early hour of the day because she
simply wanted to express her love for Jesus. Perhaps, all she wanted to do was to cry before
the tomb of Jesus – a mere continuation of her previous life. However, her old self would not
anymore fit in. Jesus has risen. Jesus now offers a whole new relationship. The Father of
Jesus becomes our Father too. We now belong to God’s family. We can only hear the voice
of the Lord calling us by our very name when we enter into such new relationship. We can
only see the true meaning of the empty tomb with the eyes of faith. As Christians, our life
now is a whole new life with God which enables us to proclaim, along with Mary Magdalene,
that we have truly seen the Lord.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024
