Lord, help me to be eager to serve the needs of others as Mary did in recognizing and hearing You, and then responding by sharing Your blessings with them.
Reflection
Because she was the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus, St. Mary Magdalene is sometimes referred to as the “apostle to the apostles”. Mary went to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning on that first Easter day and found the stone at the entrance of the tomb rolled away and the tomb itself was empty.
Soon Jesus approached Mary, but she didn’t recognize Him. She thought that she was speaking to a gardener. Mary asked Him where the body of Jesus was. Then Jesus simply said her name, “Mary!” and she recognized Him. She held Him in an embrace of sheer joy, but He told her not to “hold Him back.” He commissioned her to go to the disciples, still hidden in fear, and to let them know that He is alive; risen from the dead.
Thinking about this encounter, I am reminded of the tongue-in-cheek saying, “It feels like Déjà vu all over again!” The encounter between Mary Magdalene and the Risen Lord shows a pattern that all the rest of the resurrection stories in the gospels exhibit: Jesus approaches the disciple, but He is not recognized, then a dialogue ensues (sometimes short, like the one with Mary Magdalene, but at other times lengthy; as with the men on the road to Emmaus). Eventually, the disciple recognizes that it is Jesus; then Jesus leaves the disciple, whereupon the disciple returns to the others with the good news that Jesus lives.
That same pattern continues to be made real in our encounters with Jesus. Since that first resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene, we continue to encounter Christ- in our lives and in our sacraments. Like Mary Magdalene we are invited and commissioned by Jesus to be His disciples and to receive the same wonderful news that He makes a difference in our world and to let others know about it.
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