Reflection on readings for feast of Mary Magdalene - Who are you looking for?

Saint Mary Magdalene - Memorial            Monday, 22 July 2013

First reading: Song of Songs 3:1-4. 
On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves - I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek Him whom my heart loves. I sought him but I did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city: Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves. I took hold of him and would not let him go till I should bring him to the home of my mother, to the room of my parent.

Ps 63(62):2.3-4.5-6.8-9. 

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

For you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
Like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
 
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
To see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;

My lips shall glorify you.

Thus will I bless you while I live;
Lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

And with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

That you indeed are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.

 

Gospel of St John 20:1-2.11-18. 

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
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."
But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been.
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."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus.
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."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher.
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.'"
Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what he told her.

 

 

 Commentary of the day :

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Mary Magdalene.  Mary of Magdala was one the 12 women followers of Jesus.  It was from her that Jesus cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2).  Many modern Scripture scholars believe that “seven demons” does not mean that Mary had lived an immoral life, but that she was seriously ill.  They contend that Mary Magdalene has been a victim of mistaken identity for almost 20 centuries.  They also believe that she is not the unnamed sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7:36-50.  All scholars agree, however, that Mary Magdalene was one of the many women “who were assisting them [Jesus and the Twelve] out of their means”; that she was one of those who stood by the cross of Jesus with his mother; and that she was the one to whom the privilege of becoming an “official witness” of Jesus’ resurrection was given.  Mary Magdalene appears in all the gospel accounts of the resurrection as one of the myrrh-bearing women who went to the tomb.  The Gospel of John recounts that she did not enter the tomb but ran to tell Peter and the beloved disciple about it.  She stood outside weeping even after Peter and John had verified that the tomb was empty and left the scene.

The great recognition scene: Today’s gospel gives us the greatest recognition scene in the Bible.  The risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene standing outside the empty tomb.  But she fails to recognize him until he calls her by name, “Mary,” because a) her focus is the empty tomb and her assumption is that somebody has stolen the dead body of Jesus; b) she cannot see clearly through her tears.  But once she recognizes Jesus from his voice calling her by name she becomes the main witness of Jesus’ resurrection.  Her joyful message, “I have seen the Lord!” becomes the experiential essence of Christianity and kerugma of preaching in the early Church.

 Life messages: Mere knowledge about Jesus will not make us true Christians. Mary Magdalene’s example teaches us that it is the personal encounter with, and experience of the Risen Lord that make us dynamic, witness-bearing Christians. It is through daily, meditative reading of the Holy Scripture, personal and family prayers, frequent participation in the Eucharistic celebration and the rendering of humble and loving service to others, recognizing in them the presence of the risen Christ that we come to experience the Risen Lord as a living presence

 Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
 Sermons on the Song of Songs, no. 28, 9-10 (©Cistercian Publications Inc., 1976)

"Who are you looking for?"

Only the hearing that catches the word possesses the truth..."Do not touch me," says the Lord. He meant: depend no longer on this fallible sense; put your trust in the word, get used to faith. Faith cannot be deceived. With the power to understand invisible truths, faith does not know the poverty of the senses; it transcends even the limits of human reason, the capacity of nature, the bounds of experience. Why do you ask the eye to do what it is not equipped to do? And why does the hand endeavor to examine things beyond its reach? What you may learn from these senses is of limited value. But faith will tell you of me without detracting from my greatness. Learn to receive with greater confidence, to follow with greater security, whatever faith commends to you. "Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father." As if after he had ascended he wished to be or could be touched by her! And yet he could be touched, but by the heart, not by the hand; by desire, not by the eye; by faith, not by the senses. "Why do you want to touch me now?" he says... "Do you not remember that, while I was still mortal, the eyes of the disciples could not endure for a short space the glory of my transfigured body that was destined to die? I still accommodate myself to your senses by bearing this form of a servant (Phil 2,7) which you are accustomed to seeing. But this glory of mine is too wonderful for you... Defer your judgment therefore... With its fuller comprehension, faith will define it more worthily and more surely... She therefore will touch me worthily who will accept me as seated with the Father (Mk 16,19; Ps 110[109],1), no longer in lowly guise, but in my own flesh transformed with heaven's beauty. Why wish to touch what is ugly? Have patience that you may touch me in my beauty.”