Tuesday 14 April 2009

Background

The Gospel-writer John tells how Mary Magdalene is not only thefirst one to have discovered the empty tomb, she is also the firstto meet with the risen Jesus. At first, Mary thought Jesus was thegardener and only recognised that it was him when he addressed herby name.

Why did Mary not recognise Jesus? Was it because of her tears? Shehad already heard the risen Jesus speak before he used her name,but only recognised him when he said "Mary!" In the Bible, the useof names is always important and significant. By using Mary's name,Jesus makes the conversation very personal.

Throughout the stories of the Resurrection there are times whenJesus was not recognised and times when he was. Usually he wasrecognised at a particularly significant point in the story.

One of John's major themes in his Gospel, thought to have beenwritten more than 70 years after the death of Jesus, is to showthat the Jesus whom people knew in their human experience had been'raised up' by God to rule over all things. He symbolised this in anumber of ways. Jesus was raised up on the Cross; he was raisedfrom the dead; and he was yet to be raised to be with his Father(see verse 17). Mary was told "Do not hold on to me" because thestory was not yet finished.

Mary's proclamation to the disciples that "I have seen the Lord!"is the first proclamation of the Christian faith - a proclamationwhich was to travel all around the world. It was good news forMary, and good news is for sharing.

To Ponder

What good news is there to share in the worldtoday? Who could you share it with?

Why do you think Mary recognised Jesus when hespoke her name?