Jn. 20:1-9
The great gift of Easter is hope. (Basil Hume) Today we celebrate Easter, the greatest of all solemnities. In today’s gospel passage, we see the risen Lord making Mary his witness as well as his chosen instrument to proclaim to the world the good news concerning his resurrection. When we meditate on Mary’s life, we realise that the Lord did not give up on her, and she too was not ready to give up on the Lord, even when everything seemed hopeless and empty. As per the gospel of John, we understand that after the Sabbath day, none of the disciples thought about paying a visit to the tomb of Jesus. They might have been truly afraid of being haunted by the Jews.
Whatsoever, Mary goes to the tomb early in the morning; rather, she was just waiting for the Sabbath day to be concluded so that she could visit the tomb and pay her homage to the mortal remains of Jesus. We could easily presume that she may not have slept the previous night. She had only one desire to visit the tomb of her beloved master. We need to keep in mind that no one else went in search of Jesus like Mary.
When she reaches the spot, she realises that his body is missing. She could have remained passive, accusing either the Jewish leaders or the Roman soldiers. But at once she runs to Peter and John to inform them about the eventuality. They came, verified it, and went back. Though her heart was filled with deep sorrow and disappointment, she did not move away from the tomb. She remained there, crying.
Her intense desire and perseverance for the Lord were rewarded by the first-hand experience of the risen Lord, which was the special privilege of Mary because she was the first chosen human to experience someone who conquered death. Anyhow, Mary did not recognise the Lord at the first encounter because her eyes and heart were filled with deep sorrow caused by the heartbreaking, brutal murder of her beloved master, and now they have stolen his body. Therefore, thinking that one who was speaking to her is the gardener and begs for Jesus’ body, which depicts her unconditional and unparalleled love that even death could not defeat or seize,
When the Lord calls Mary, she responds with “Rabboni,” which depicts the intimate and personal relationship between the Lord and Mary. “My sheep hear my voice.” “I know them, and they follow me.” (Jn. 10:27)Then she didn’t need any more proof. The Lord commissions her to proclaim to his disciples and to the entire world that he is risen. Though Jesus chose twelve apostles to be with him and send out, Mary received the special privilege of being the first witness to Easter morning.
As we celebrate the great solemnity of Easter today, let us be inspired by the heroic love and discipleship model of Mary. She was never ready to give up on the Lord, and the Lord was also not ready to give up on her. Once she knew the Lord, she stood by his side faithfully, even when everything seemed lost; she remained outside the empty tomb out of her love for the Lord. Her hope and faith were similar to those of the great patriarch Abraham. Like Abraham, hoping against all hope, she waited for her Lord and found him—not in his dead body, but in his risen self. Let us continue to search for the Lord, whatever the desperate situation that we are in. We can be sure that no tomb can limit him or prevent him from intervening in our lives… He will come in search of us and find us…