Following the news of the destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, we learned that there was vandalism of churches in Sri Lanka. Are we entering a new era? Will we become use to reading about other church buildings that are attacked in one way or another?
We have become used to identifying our faith with the buildings, personnel, and programs that we see. When these begin to suddenly crumble or die out gradually we are shaken. We want to restore quickly these houses of God so we can feel the way we use to feel. Then we can “hold on” to our buildings again.
Today we read the story of Mary Magdalene grieving over the loss of Jesus. He was everything to her. Then suddenly his body was “vandalized” on the cross. Jesus was destroyed and all that remained of him was his dead body (John 20:11-18).
“Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there…And they said to her, ‘Woman why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken my Lord…’”
Now, even the remains of Jesus had been taken from her. She had nothing left to cling to.
“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?”
Mary assumed the man who resembled a gardener had taken the body of Jesus. Maybe he could tell her where to find it.
“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”
Jesus was restored! His appearance was different but his voice was the same as it was before. Though she didn’t have time to process the miracle of the resurrection, she instinctively fell down and grabbed “the gardener” around the knees. He said to her,
“Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”
She wanted Jesus to be the way he used to be, and she didn’t want him ever to leave again. Jesus was still “in process;” the story was not over. He still had a few days left on earth, and then he would complete his journey and ascend to the Father. This was not a time to grab hold of him but to run to the disciples and tell them that she had seen the risen Jesus. And so,
“Mary went and announced to the disciples…”
There are stages in the life of the Church and stages in our own faith lives that are supposed to come to an end. Jesus, as we’ve become used to him, disappears and we see nothing but a graveyard. Instead of focusing on the ruins, we are called to turn around and listen to the One standing behind us. It is not the Jesus as we knew him, but Jesus as he is now at this moment in history.
We can waste our time trying to reconstruct the “dead Jesus,” or we can open our hearts to see the real, “risen Jesus” present in our lives. Is he telling us at this moment to let go and allow ourselves to meet him in a new way?
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it” (Ps 118:24).
