THE WORD AND THE SAINT
July 22, 2020: Song of Songs 3: 1-4; John 20: 1-2, 11-18
Celebrating Mary of Magdala, one who loved the Lord passionately
Celebrating Mary of Magdala, one who loved the Lord passionately
Mary Magdalene is one character in the life of Jesus, that many are very curious about. The conspiracy theorists and apocryphal experts find in themselves a great interest to study this person more and more and come up with details that are there and even those that are not there! However they all begin with one question, which the Gospel today answers.
That Question is this: Why is it that the Lord appeared to her first and not to the other apostles?
The Gospel answers it in such simple terms: because she was there!
As we read in the Gospel today, she was there at the tomb early morning. Then, she ran to the apostles and brought them; the apostles saw, they believed and they left... but she was there, she stood on, she stayed at the tomb and kept weeping (cf v.11). She was there and she got to see her Master.
She was like that widow about whom Jesus spoke of once in his parables (Lk 18) - persistent and insistent, not giving up! She wanted by all means to know what happened to her Master! She could not settle with the answer, 'we do not know'! She persisted in her heart and mind and soul. She stayed on because she just could not go! She was so passionately in love with her Master.
The Gospel answers it in such simple terms: because she was there!
As we read in the Gospel today, she was there at the tomb early morning. Then, she ran to the apostles and brought them; the apostles saw, they believed and they left... but she was there, she stood on, she stayed at the tomb and kept weeping (cf v.11). She was there and she got to see her Master.
She was like that widow about whom Jesus spoke of once in his parables (Lk 18) - persistent and insistent, not giving up! She wanted by all means to know what happened to her Master! She could not settle with the answer, 'we do not know'! She persisted in her heart and mind and soul. She stayed on because she just could not go! She was so passionately in love with her Master.
The key is right there: if we are passionately in love with the Lord, we will see the glory of the Lord right in front of our eyes. A passionate love for the Lord seeks the Lord with a yearning so strong that cannot take 'no' for an answer. By all means, the soul, the heart, the person wants to get in touch with the Lord. That is what is to be answered first when i say, I want to encounter the Lord - how passionate am I about it? How passionately am I in love with the Lord? My passionate love for the Lord will be seen in my daily life style: nothing else will matter more to me, every person around me will resemble my Lord to me, every cry of the suffering will come to me as my Master reaching out to me, every heart that bleeds will bring my Master alive suffering right before my eyes. How can I remain indifferent then? Yes, the key is, a passionate love for the Lord!