Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
As I sat down to write on today’s readings, I couldn’t help but think, What else is there to say right now? After this weekend, it seems like Easter speaks for itself for awhile. Maybe this is why the Church gives us 50 full days to celebrate: the Resurrection has so much to say to us and we need some time to process it. But today’s gospel reading has something to say to this, I think.
It is the account of the Resurrection from John. Mary Magdalene is the main disciple in the story, and she is alone in the story. As much as Easter makes me focus intently on Jesus, I am always struck by the role of the disciples during the Triduum readings. In today’s story, Mary Magdalene goes on a roller coaster of emotions, and while John does not give us many details, we have clues in the story about her experience. In the beginning of the story she is weeping, “bent over into the tomb.” She is physically affected by Jesus’ death. Then we see Mary frantically searching for Jesus, telling the angels that she doesn’t know where he is and then asking who she thinks is the gardener where Jesus has been laid. She is grieving, weeping, searching, and pleading.
Jesus calls her name and she immediately realizes his presence. John includes here an interesting detail: Jesus tells Mary, “Stop holding on to me.” Was Mary hugging Jesus? Was she overcome with joy and confusion, throwing herself at his feet? We don’t know. What we do know is that Mary has a choice in this moment, as do the other disciples when they meet the risen Christ. They have the choice to doubt their own eyes or to trust the words of their Savior and announce the good news.
It seems to me that we are often faced with this choice. And like the disciples, we have to take on the challenge of the Gospel despite our fears and doubts. We often mistake the people around us as something irrelevant or even dangerous, as Mary does when she questions the “gardener.” But with the grace to see, our eyes adjust and we see the image of God. In that moment, we either choose the hard work of the Gospel or we turn away, whether in fear or disbelief—or even just complacency. May the joy of Easter allow us to see the face of Christ before us, and may God give us the grace to live our lives in the light of the Good News of the Resurrection.
- Katherine Schmidt