JOHN 20:10-18 THE CALL OF LOVE
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Mary remained at the tomb absorbed in her grief. The object of her grief was Jesus, but the substance of that grief was her loss. It was a grief so deep that she could not even recognize the angels sent to minister to her, or even the answer to her grief himself, the risen Christ. But it was a grief born of love and God’s response was that of love. The angels and the Lord seek to enter Mary’s grief by asking the same question, “Woman, why are you crying?” Once she answers, Jesus calls her by name and her grief is relieved.
The tenderness of God is seen not only in Jesus’ response to Mary’s broken heart, but also to her paralysis of hopelessness. Rather than allowing her to desperately hang on to him, Jesus gives Mary an assignment: “Go instead to my brothers and tell them…”
None of us will get through this life without the experience of grief. In a world characterized by transience there is constant change, and therefore, a continuous experience of loss. The intensity of our grief may be due to the strength of our relationship with the object of our grief or the cumulative effect of multiple experiences of loss. Like Mary, it is natural that our first response is focused on our loss, but if we are going to let God reach us in our loss and answer our helplessness we will need to have our ears trained to hear his voice calling our name. The sheep only come to know the shepherd’s voice by listening to it during the daily routines of life. Then it is natural for them to recognize it in the midst of a crisis.
Risen and eternal Lord, you are the Good Shepherd and you call me by name. Give me the discipline to train myself to hear your voice so that I never need to experience the depths of despair and loneliness without knowing your presence with me. Thank you for your love that meets me in my grief. Amen.