It’s interesting to notice in today’s gospel that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first, out of whom he had driven seven demons. The very first person to ever see the risen Christ had been possessed by seven demons, before Jesus cured her. However when Mary Magdalene went to tell Jesus’ disciples that she had seen Jesus risen from the dead, they didn’t believe her. Is it because she used to have seven demons inside of her and everyone viewed her as being mentally and emotionally unstable? Is that why the gospel today, even mentions the seven demons?
Maybe Mary Magdalene’s past still influenced the disciples opinion of her and they didn’t completely trust everything she said. They might have thought her grief played tricks on her mind and she really didn’t see Jesus, she just wished she had.
Many people with mental illness or addictions in our society have the same problem. Even after getting help for their condition, many of their family and friends still remember their past and take what they say with a grain of salt, waiting to see if they are really healed or not. In reality, it’s very difficult to continue to live in the same community with the same family and group of friends and “be transformed” into a better person. It’s because your past continues to haunt you for a long time afterward and your friends and family may not completely trust you, or what you say. It takes a while to earn their trust again, but that wasn’t so with Jesus.
Jesus trusted Mary Magdalene with the most important news that mankind has ever known. His resurrection from the dead was the most important event in human history, and Jesus Christ trusted a woman who had been mentally or emotionally unstable, to tell his disciples the good news. What a beautiful, and healing thing Jesus did by revealing himself to her and then trusting her to do what he asked of her.
Mary Magdalene was also the very first person to believe in Jesus’s resurrection from the dead too. His disciples didn’t believe her at first. Jesus also showed himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus and when they returned, the other disciples didn’t believe them at first either.
Jesus actually rebuked his disciples for their unbelief. And this too, has a lesson for us. Every single one of these disciples are now saints in the Catholic church and yet, Jesus admonished all of them. We need to remember this the next time someone corrects us too, even if they are justified in doing so. But, this should not make us feel discouraged about our weaknesses. Those closest to Jesus were also rebuked by him more than once. Saints did not become saints without ever falling short of the ideal. However, this does not mean we are not good enough to share our faith in Christ with others. The Catholic faith is like a hospital for sinners, not a shrine to saints. Every single one of us are called to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” We do not have to be perfect people to do this.
The average person, faults and all, is called to be a witness to Jesus Christ. This is most especially accomplished through our personal witness in how we live our own lives, but it doesn’t just stop there. It didn’t stop there with Peter and John who were uneducated, ordinary men with faults, shortcomings and weaknesses of their own. They were not qualified to do what they did either. Jesus did not choose people with doctorates in theology to share their love for him with others. Just remember that. Jesus didn’t call the trained. He trained the ones that he called to serve him.
If we genuinely love Jesus, the truth shines through for everyone to see. The truth of our love for Jesus, and his love for us, is reflected in our actions and the way we live our lives. Jesus doesn’t expect perfection from us, but he does expect us to love him and to love one another.
We need to remember the readings for mass today the next time someone doubts what we say, or tries to make us feel bad about ourselves, whether it is justified or not. Christ chose imperfect people just like you and I to share his love with the world, because we also live in a world of imperfect people. But, the good news is that Jesus understands this and he loves us anyway.
Daily Mass Readings:
Acts 4: 13-21 / Psalm 118: 1, 14-15ab, 16-18, 19-21 / Mark 16: 9-15
