There is a very subtle, physical and spiritual, yet intentional turning in our Gospel story today.
“She [Mary Magdelene] said to [the two angels in the tomb], “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
And then, again:
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
This turning means more than physical pivoting. It is turning from sadness and despair in her immense grief and helplessness to actively search for the longing of her heart.
And it is an intentional responding to the familiar presence of God, a turning away from darkness to see the light. Mary deliberately answered and acknowledged that it was indeed the Lord. And she humbly acknowledged His authority in that instant.
We are called to turn away from our aching and despair and fear. We are called to humbly acknowledge the Lord in our lives every day. To turn and look for Him, until we know Him.
Furthermore, the story of Mary Magdalene’s encounter of Jesus at the tomb reassures us that God can instantly turn our sadness into joy. She was extraordinarily persistent in her search for him, especially considering she just saw and spoke to a couple of angels. And she wasn’t even ready to stop at that, turning still and looking still and asking still. What an example of holy faith and perseverance Mary Magdalene is for us.
And her reward for this fortitude is precious. He calls her by name! What a resounding, personal affirmation of Love that is.
Alonso de Andrade, in the 19th-century book Daily meditations on the mysteries of our holy faith, highlights this perseverance of St. Mary Magdalene and the joyful reward of such a tender encounter with which she was blessed for her determination.
. . . “Consider how St. Peter, St. John, and St. Mary Magdalene came to the sepulcher to seek Christ, and how the disciples went away because they found not the body of the Lord; but St. Mary Magdalene remained at the door weeping his absence, and merited to see, alive and glorious, him whom she sought as dead. Learn that it is not sufficient to seek Christ in order to find him, unless, like St. Mary Magdalene, we seek with perseverance, and that those deserve to enjoy the glory of his resurrection who, with lively faith and devotion, seek, follow, and contemplate his Passion and death, like this holy penitent seated by the tomb.”
When we are sad or depressed, it is tempting to give up and fall into even greater despair. However, the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection encourage us to persevere and trust that God can bring a greater good out of our sadness.
So, let us turn, look and persevere every day searching for our Lord and His tender voice in our lives.