7/22/2023 (Saturday) Today’s gospel reading: John 20:1-2, 11-18
1 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
11 Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
12 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been.
13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.”
14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her.
7/22/2023 (Saturday) Today’s gospel reflection: John 20:1-2, 11-18
To many people, Mary Magdalene has a bad reputation and even use her name to refer disparagingly to a woman of low status. Yet, she is called a saint! Indeed, her life is exemplary. She had a not-so-good background but once she encountered Jesus, she made a u-turn and there was no turning back. She could be the epitome of the maxim that “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”
Mary Magdalene is really the best example of what the Lord can do. Jesus does not condemn. He transforms. But the transforming power of Jesus can only happen if we allow Him to be the King and the only Lord in our life. Mary Magdalene became a devoted follower of Jesus such that even after Jesus was buried, she was there for Him – to serve Him. Love indeed knows no boundary in time and in space.
For her faithfulness to Jesus, she became the first witness of the resurrection and the first to receive the Great Commission to go and tell the Good News. We can learn from her.