April 2009

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"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Matthew 6:28-29


Speaking

Speaking


 

"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." John 20:1-2

Can you imagine the panic in Mary's voice and the uproar her announcement must have created? Can you see Peter and John running to the tomb in that pre-dawn half light, Mary running close behind? Picture the scene with me. John outruns Peter, reaches the tomb first, stoops to look in, sees the linen cloths, but doesn't go inside. Peter arrives, and bold as always, enters immediately into the tomb. Peter also sees the linen grave cloths, and the handkerchief that had been around Jesus' head. Now John, encouraged by Peter's boldness and presence, also enters the tomb. The disciples don't know at this time that Scripture has prophesied Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Imagine with me what their racing thoughts must have been. What have they done to Him now? Wasn't crucifying Him enough? Will their persecution of Him never end? John tells us that after this, "the disciples went away again to their own homes." (vs. 10) What was their demeanor? Defeated? Angry? Bewildered? The passage doesn't tell us.

But Mary? What did she do? Mary continued to stand outside the tomb weeping. Her grief immobilized her, rooted her in place. In tears, she stooped and looked into the tomb and saw there two angels who asked why she was weeping. She told them that her Lord had been taken away and she didn't know where they had laid Him. When she sensed someone's presence behind her and turned, Jesus was standing there. Perhaps her profound grief had called Him there.

"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" He asked. Did Jesus know the answers to those questions? Yes, of course. Then why ask them? Jesus, in true rabbinical fashion, almost always began his teaching with a question, and this was definitely a most important teaching session for Mary. Also, I'm sure He wanted her to be comforted by His voice and His living presence. But she didn't recognize Him! The depth of poor Mary's despair was so great that she failed to recognize the very Lord she was seeking! She mistook Him for the gardener, and said, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Poor heartbroken Mary! How would she have been able to carry away the Man's body alone? But she was too lost in grief to think logically. I imagine the thoughts crashing through her head may have been, His body may be an offense to you, an offense you don't want here in your garden, but it's not an offense to me! I love Him! Please let me care for His body, restore to it the honor and dignity it deserves.

Then follows one of my favorite moments recorded in all of Scripture. Did Jesus turn and walk away because Mary failed to recognize Him? Did He chastise her for her failure? No. Instead, He spoke one word that must have been filled with the very essence of Himself, the essence of grace, compassion, and mercy. He spoke her name, "Mary!"

And then, glory of glories, she recognized Him!

Today, two thousand years later, each of us stands outside the same empty tomb. Jesus is risen! He lives and is speaking our names. My name. Your name. Everyone's name. If we will stop our frantic search, our frantic efforts to put things right in our own way, and just listen, we will hear and recognize His voice speaking our name. He's waiting to assure us that He has put all things right.

Listen! Do you hear? His voice sounds just like Him. It sounds like Love.


Daye Phillippo

March 2009