On April 2nd, our dear Pope Francis gave a beautiful homily on Mary Magdalene standing at the tomb. As I read the Pope's words, it stirred something in me to begin praying with this scene. I have decided I would like to share with you all the fruits of my meditation on this scene, and hopefully you all will pray with this scene as well!
John 20:11-18
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Now the first thing that really struck me was Mary's reaction to the empty tomb versus the disciples that went with her. The disciples reaction is to turn and run and go tell the others that the tomb is empty. It seems to be a very frantic reaction, very unsettled. Mary, however, stays. She chooses to stand at the tomb, and she allows herself to weep. But let's look at why she is weeping. Mary has been called to a great conversion of heart, and she has given up everything to follow Jesus. In light of Jesus's death and now empty tomb, everything she thought was real, everything she believed Jesus would do, has been crushed. This tomb represents the crushed hopes of Mary Magdalene. She officially has no idea what is going on! Where is Jesus?
This scene is so beautiful because Mary allows herself to stand there, to be in the place where her hopes and dreams have been seemingly destroyed. She has no idea what God's plan is now, nor does she even know what to do with herself. And here, in that place, in her helplessness, is where Jesus comes to meet her. In John's gospel, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene first. It is in the place of helplessness and grief, in the honesty of Mary's reaction (her tears), where Jesus takes a step towards her and reveals himself to her.
Mary could not have even imagined Jesus coming to her, resurrected, and giving her the message of going to his Father. She, as did many of the disciples, felt that Jesus had been defeated in death. But as is usual, His plans are so much greater than our own! But by calling her by name, He not only opens her
eyes and heart to see Him, but he reveals his plans to her. He tells her
exactly what to do, and he tells her exactly what to say.
This is exactly what Jesus wishes to do in our own prayer lives. As we allow Jesus to pursue a relationship with us, and as we allow ourselves to respond to this pursuit, Jesus wishes to reveal himself to us in just this same place. He asks us to stand at our empty tomb, to be honest in our disappointments, in our helplessness, in our grief, because that is where he desires to meet us. Father Hoesing always tells us that Jesus wants to be in the darkest places in our hearts, and this passage is real proof of that. Jesus wants to meet us in our smallness and humility, because that is where He takes the step towards us, reveals more of himself to us, and gives us the instruction we so need and desire in our lives.
Mary Magdalene struck me so greatly in that first reaction of simply staying, weeping, and being at the tomb. She shows us that as we take a step back, and wait on the Lord, He will take the extra step towards us in order to draw us nearer to Him. We have to strive for nothing when it comes to relationship with God because we are not capable of growing any closer to Him on our own. When we grasp at him, when we frantically try to leap forward (as the disciples did by running), we miss him altogether. It is by no power of our own that we are united to Christ's heart, but by the merciful love of the Father, he bends down and draws us in, and all we must do is wait on the Lord. His call to us asks for a response, which is what Mary Magdalene does at the end of this passage, by returning to the others and bringing them Jesus's message, instead of returning empty handed and frantic like the other disciples.
Mary teaches us to bring that message of hope to others. That when we've allowed Jesus to meet us in our own tombs, we are able to share the experience of hope that we have received in our encounter with God. We can share his love and his message with others, and this is really what evangelization is all about.
So what is your empty tomb? Have you allowed yourself to stay there, in that place, and asked Jesus to come meet you there? I invite you to meditate on this passage as much as you can, and see where the Lord is asking you to stay so that He can reveal more of Himself to you and draw you nearer to his own heart!
God Bless you dear loved ones
Monica
