Acts 2:36-43 / John 20:11-18
Jesus speaks to Mary of Magdala: “Stop holding on to
me. ”
A mother had just returned from
driving her only son to college. She walked into his empty room, clutching a
note he had written her. She began to cry uncontrollably, realizing that his
new world at college would never be her world—their world. Finally, after a
long cry, she let go of the note and let it fall to the floor. In the months
ahead, after the pain of separation had
worn off, the mother discovered something remarkable. By “letting go” of her
son, she found that they could love each
other in a whole new way—an adult way that was far more fulfilling than the
earlier mother-child relationship. Mary of Magdala (Magdalene)
discovered the same thing after she let go of the earthly Jesus and began
relating to the risen Jesus.
****
Are we holding on to something that
we should let go of? What I keep I lose; what I give away is mine forever.
****
The gospel began with Mary staying
outside the tomb weeping. The gospel ends with Mary of Magdala going forth to
tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord. In between, something very
personal, something very intimate, happened to Mary. She heard the Risen Lord
call her by her name, and she responded in Hebrew, her mother tongue, a
language that was most intimate to her. Before that, she was a broken person -
weeping, grieving and lost. But the experience of the Risen Lord gave her back
her identity and a mission; she was Mary of Magdala and she had seen the Lord.
Similarly, the Peter who spoke on
the day of Pentecost was a different person from the one who denied Jesus three
times and wept. Something happens when people experience the Risen Lord. They
regain their identity and find a new purpose and mission in life. So when we
feel that life has come to a standstill, our dreams are broken, and we have
more fears than hopes, the Risen Lord comes to us. He calls out to us just
as He called Mary. Mary responded with her heart. We can't be always standing
outside the tomb of emptiness or the tombs of pleasure, wealth and power and
sin. The Risen Lord calls us by our names. Let us respond with our hearts so that
our lives can have a meaning and a mission.
***
LITURGY
Octave of Easter
Tuesday
RECOGNIZING THE RISEN
LORD
Introduction
It is not always easy to recognize the risen Lord. This was
the experience of Mary Magdalene. We too, are asked, “Whom are you seeking?”
Are we really seeking the Lord Jesus? Do we recognize him not only in our
prayers and during the reception of the Holy Eucharist, but also when he walks
by our side in our sufferings and in our joys, in the people around us, and in
the ordinary events and circumstances of life? Jesus is indeed our Lord and
Messiah. Mary Magdalene recognized him when she heard his voice. Are we really
in love with him and attuned to his Good News that we can say when hearing him:
“It is you, Lord, speaking to me.”
Penitential Rite
- You, Lord, loves justice and right; LHM
- You, Lord, preserve
us in spite of famine, CHM
- Your eyes, LORD, are upon those who fear you, LHM
Opening Prayer
Our God of life, we profess our faith in Jesus and recognize
him as our Lord and Savior. Make us listen to him, when he speaks his Good News
to us, for it is a message of life. May we also hear his voice, when he cries
out to us in people in need or simply when he speaks to us through the people
who express to us their joys and hopes, their love and their faith. We ask this
through Christ, our Lord.
Commentary
The Johannine account of Mary Magdalene’s initial encounter
with the risen Christ provides considerable food for thought. Her fidelity to
the Lord through his passion and death is legendary. Now standing by the empty
tomb, she is addressed by the two angels within. Asked why she is weeping; she
replies that she does not know what has become of Jesus’ body. It is at this
point that Christ addresses her directly. Not recognizing him and believing
that he is the gardener, she again expresses her grief at the loss of Christ’s
body. Recognition comes with a single word: “Mary.” She immediately addresses
him as “Rabbani” or Teacher. In the Gospel of John, the resurrection,
ascension, and Pentecost are united. Christ tells Mary not to detain him, since
he is ascending to his Father and will return on that same Sunday evening to
confer the Spirit on the apostles. His journey is not interrupted. Mary then
becomes the first witness to the resurrection. This woman from Jesus’ earthly
company carries this central mystery to the apostles. In our times, when Mary
is seen as an important woman of the Gospels, we see her today as the first
ambassador of the risen Christ. There are two points that come quickly to mind.
One is the expanding role of women in the church. This is an encouraging
development. This is true not only of teaching, catechetic, and human outreach
but in worship as well. We can only be grateful and supportive of the
contribution women do and can make to church life. The second point is the
force of the name. Our name is singularly our own. We are recognized by it, and
we claim it unfailingly. To remember a person’s name does him or her honor.
That name is to be reverenced and honored. Its proper use is an unmatched sign
of respect.
Points to Ponder
Mary’s grief Name
recognition
The ascent of Jesus
Women in the church.
Intercessions
– Lord, do not remain a stranger to us. Make the Church see
your image, even in sinners, so that they will be raised up to a new life, we
pray:
– Lord, do not remain a stranger to us. Make us see you and
lift you up in the beggars in the streets and the fugitives from oppression, we
pray:
– Lord, do not remain a stranger to us. Make us console you
in those who weep and mourn, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God, in
these signs of bread and wine, we seek the Lord Jesus, for we want to find him and
to become near to him in our life of every day. Let him become close to us and
raise us above the banality of everyday life. Let him make our life rich and
beautiful in goodness and deep faith, for he is our Risen Lord, now and
forever.
Prayer after
Communion
Lord God, bring to perfection in us what you have let Jesus
begin in us. Let him show us what we have to do, let him keep converting us to
his ways of patient service and deep love. Let him nourish his new life in us, when
in the Eucharist, he sits at table with us, his disciples today. Grant us all
this through Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
“Do not hold on to me,” says Jesus. Do not try to possess
him for ourselves alone. Let us go to our brothers and sisters and share Jesus
with them as the Lord of life who raises us above ourselves by making us with
him people-for-others. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Spirit.
