Homily
for Tuesday
in
the Octave of Easter
April
11, 2023
John
20: 11-18
Christian
Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.
“Woman, whom are you looking for?”
(John 20: 15).
This question addressed to Mary of Magdala resembles 2 times Jesus asked a similar question in John’s Gospel. The 1st—in fact the 1st words he speaks in that gospel—was when Jesus noticed Andrew and another disciple of John the Baptist following him and asked them, “What are you looking for?” (1:38). The 2d was in the garden when Jesus twice asked the mob come to arrest him, “Whom are you looking for?” (18:4,7). All together, the 3 questions, Raymond Brown writes, are “a question that probes discipleship.”[1]
On the 1st occasion, the 2 disciples
replied, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” (1:38). On the 2d occasion, the mob replied, “Jesus
the Nazorean” (18:5,7). On this
occasion, also situated in a garden (19:41; cf. 20:15), Mary replies that she’s
looking for the body of Jesus, whom she’s just acknowledged as her Lord (19:13,15).
Thus the 1st and 3d occasions are
queries from disciples seeking some kind of enlightenment, and the seeking
leads to revelation. The disciples “come
and see” and spend an afternoon with Jesus, forming a relationship with him. Jesus answers Mary by addressing her by name;
he’s the Good Shepherd who knows his own, and they recognize his voice and follow
him (10:3). So Mary does, embracing her
“Rabbouni” and trying to hold him fast (20:16).
In the sad middle instance, Judas and
the mob fail to recognize his voice or his identity: I AM.
Discipleship fails, horribly.
According to John, Judas’ relationship was with money (12:6).
Mary of Magdala is confirmed in her
relationship to God. Jesus sends her to his
“brothers” with a message about “my Father and your Father” (19:17). She’s a daughter of God, one of those who
accepted Jesus and were empowered to become children of God (1:12).
[1]
A Risen Christ in Eastertime: Essays on the Gospel Narratives of the
Resurrection (Collegeville, 1991), p. 71
No comments:
Post a Comment