Today’s Reading: Matthew 27:62-66, 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 8:1-3, 24:1-11; John 20:1-2, 11-18

Luke tells us that there was a small group of women who often followed Jesus from town to town along with the disciples. Each had their own personal story of how Jesus had healed them of diseases or freed them from the evil spirits that were controlling their lives. They were so thankful for what Jesus had done in their lives that they gave sacrificially in order to help support the ministry of Jesus. Among these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of the manager of Herod’s household, and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3).

At the foot of the cross, we again see a small group of women who faithfully stayed by Jesus’ side, even in his death. While others were running in fear, these women were ministering to the needs of Jesus’ mother as she watched her son suffer. Again we see Mary Magdalene, along with Jesus’ aunt and Mary the wife of Clopas.

To get a picture of how much Mary Magdalene loved and cared for Jesus, who had changed her life drastically, we can fast forward to Sunday morning. There may have been others with her that morning as she came to anoint Jesus’ body (Mary the mother of James, Salome and Joanna).

WHO WAS SHE LOOKING FOR?

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” – John 20:1-2

We do not know what the other women did after they went to tell the disciples. We do know that Mary Magdalene returned to the empty tomb. We don’t know a lot about Mary and how she was treated in her community but we do know that women in general were not respected but considered possessions, having no rights of their own. If Mary had at one time been possessed by seven demons, I wonder how that affected her position among her family and community.

What reputation followed Mary? Did others treat her as a new person who had been healed by Jesus (Luke 8:2) or was she marked by her past to be forever known as the one who had been possessed? How did she see herself? If she ever struggled with feeling unloved and unimportant, I wonder if those feelings went away when Jesus chose her to be the first person He appeared to after His resurrection – even before returning to His Father. I can only imagine how this encounter with Jesus changed her life, just as our encounters with Christ are life-changing.

WHO ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying? The angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message. – John 20:11-18

WHO AM I LOOKING FOR?

I find great significance in Jesus’ question to Mary and I ask myself the same thing – Who am I looking for? Am I looking for Jesus? Am I expecting Jesus to reveal Himself to me today? Am I expecting to hear from the Spirit, to encounter God’s presence in my life today? Am I following Jesus today with a willingness to serve Him? Do I live with the daily recognition that Jesus is alive and actively involved in my life?

Jesus, here I am with a heart willing to experience you today and to celebrate your Resurrection! Open my eyes to the ways in which you are working in my life and in the lives of those around you. Strengthen my faith and help me to see my value in you no matter how others define me. May you be glorified today in the lives of believers around the world as we celebrate the reality that you conquered death and we serve a Risen Savior! Amen.