Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - Octave of Easter - Tues
[Acts 2:36-41 and John 20:11-18]"Woman, why are you weeping?" [John]
The Gospel of John, with its dramatic and step by step approach to faith, tells the story of Jesus' resurrection in its own way. But, as with the other gospel writers, the story comes from "stories" - the sources available to the evangelist. For example, scripture scholars wonder why the previous scene with Peter and John where John "sees and believes" is not known to Mary Magdalen in the next scene. This kind of consistency was not a concern of the evangelist. Each of the gospels is a preaching which tells the story of Jesus in various ways.
However, John IS consistent in the use of dramatic presentation. In this scene we have the angels, Mary Magdalen and Jesus. it starts with Mary's encounter with the angels, who don't seem to surprise her at all! They ask the question first: "Woman, why are you weeping?" Then Mary turns around and thinks she is seeing a gardener, who also asks her, "Woman, why are your weeping?" but takes it further with, "Whom are you looking for?" She replies to him much the same way she did to the angels. She is looking for Jesus and doesn't realize that she is looking AT Jesus until he speaks her name. Then she dramatically hugs him and Jesus has to tell her to go and proclaim his resurrection.
At the Easter Vigil, thousands of people are baptized or come into the church from other Christian traditions or no tradition at all. Their stories of faith are inspiring. It is often a step by step process. Once they have heard Jesus speak their name and they come to faith, it does not stop there. One must not "cling" to faith as a personal possession but must proclaim it to others.
We Dominicans (the Order of Preachers) venerate Mary Magdalen as the first preacher. Once she recognized Jesus as risen she obeyed his command and went to proclaim it to the other disciples. I recommend meeting someone who came to faith this past Easter Vigil and learning their story. This is how we all become preachers. AMEN
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