Notes from a Sojourn
April 13, 2020
Standing and Weeping
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb..." John 20:11
Mary Magdeline is understandably upset and confused when she discovers that Jesus' body is not in its burial place. Having witnessed Christ's violent death on the cross, one can only imagine the spiritual and emotional trauma she would have been experiencing when she went to Jesus' tomb some 36 hours after his execution.
Whatever Mary Magdeline is hoping to accomplish in her visit to Jesus' tomb, the task is abandoned when she discovers that the grave has been disturbed.
Soon, more will be known about Christ's resurrection from the dead. Before that revelation takes place, however, there is a moment of panic, confusion, and even grief. Mary has encountered something unexpected and disturbing. She is upset.
Followers of Jesus are quick to celebrate the new life in Christ that comes to us through the resurrection story. Jesus' triumph over death invites us to an entirely new spiritual orientation. In the risen Lord, we become created anew!
But many of us come to that revelation by way of the disorientation of the empty tomb. Mary Magdeline weeps from the emotional and spiritual disorientation. She does not yet understand what has happened and she certainly does not know what is about to happen. In a decidedly honest and human moment Mary stays at the tomb. She stands and she weeps.
It is during this lonely and honest confusion that Jesus begins to make himself known to her.
As we journey with Mary Magdeline to the tomb of Jesus, could there be a moment for us to acknowledge our own confusion, sorrow, grief? Through those years, may we become attentive to Christ's revelation of a new and life which conquers even death itself!
Patrick+
(photo: a 1st century Jewish burial site, similar to the one described in the Gospels)
