Sr. Theresa CMC
READING : The Resurrection of Jesus: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to 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 and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
REFLECTION: Everything is different than expected! Easter is the festival where everything turns out differently than expected. Everything is different than expected! God the Father does not intervene when his son is convicted. God the Father does not prevent his son being tormented and tortured. God, the father does nothing when his son dies miserably on the cross. Yes, some theologians even claim Judas betrayed Jesus out of love so that he could finally show, with his father’s help, what is in: the divine power. But nothing happened! Everything went differently than expected! This applies above all to what the disciples of Jesus experienced after Jesus’ death. They go to the grave to mourn and cry. But everything is different than expected! The guards who were supposed to watch over the dead found dead on the ground, and the dead who you wanted to visit, whom you wanted to mourn, experienced! Experienced! Everything is different than expected! This is the message of Easter! The disciples of Jesus expected that God the Father to intervene. And they understand gradually, very slowly, that God the Father has intervened. But completely different than expected! During the Easter season, we hear a lot of running stories. The women run to the grave and run back to announce to the disciples: The tomb is empty! Then the disciples run to the grave one is faster than the other. These two disciples walk back to the city in amazement, because they don’t understand what they saw there. Other disciples again run from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and Jesus runs with them. Thomas runs away from the disciples and is upset that he wasn’t there than the others experienced: Jesus lives! At Easter we will running stories told. I note: Apparently our lives are shaped by running! Easter tells us that. Because the running stories of the gospels they are encounter stories. Walking through your life you have the chance to meet the living God! This is what happens to women. That’s how Peter and John feel. This is what the disciples of Emmaus experience. This is given to Thomas in the encounter with the Risen One. That is the experience of the church of Jesus back then at Easter! What happens when we encounter Jesus in our lives? The encounter with Jesus makes our life new!
PRAYER: God’s Ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts? God I understand, you allow strange things and experiences in my life. Your interventions are so mysterious to my little faith. Give me the faith and courage to offer myself to you even when I don’t understand Your ways. Help me not to demand the reasons behind the things of our life. I just want to keep revering and trusting You because Your wisdom is unfathomable.
CONTEMPLATION: There is only one way to get the way of God for our life to be revealed – Wait with faith until it’s revealed. Judas didn’t wait. Peter somehow happened to wait and saw the glory of Resurrection. Let us sit in silence and contemplate to get revealed the way of God in our life.
ACTION: In our day to day life, let us see Christ in the people that we encounter and see the way of God revealed to us.
