Mary's Turn

April 15, 2001

by James Murray

Whenever I talk to people about Easter, most of them are surprised to learn how this is actually a busier time in the church than Christmas is. Over this past week, I have participated in eight extra services or events. I was fortunate that for the choir's concert, I had no responsibilities whatsoever. For that, I am very grateful. This busyness of Easter is an ongoing challenge for us. Each year, I find the effort to be stressful and draining. It is as if travelling along the road to Easter has taken so much of my strength, that there is nothing left to give, now that we are finally here. I feel I have arrived at the empty tomb, and do not have enough energy to enter in. In an odd sort of way, these feelings of fatigue are not unique when it comes to Easter morning.
It is, perhaps, the way we should be entering today. Empty, waiting to be filled.

I believe Mary of Magdala felt emotionally exhausted when she arrived at the tomb on that first Easter morning. She was physically drained, for the horrible events of Good Friday were still playing in her mind. She would never forget the brutal suffering of Jesus on the cross. The look of agony on his face when he died. Even the enforced quiet of the Sabbath day would not have eased her pain. There was still the numbing fear of being betrayed, of being handed over to the authorities, of sharing the same fate. As a result of this fear, she was afraid to mourn her loss in public, which made the grief all the harder to bear. Mary Magdalene spent that day in hiding with the other disciples, in the locked upper room. Even behind a locked door there was no relief. The sounds of the other disciples crying, their expressions of remorse and fear, just made everyone feel even worse.

When the dawn finally began to creep in to their hiding place, Mary Magdalene cut short her restless sleep. She decided it was time to act. She decided to go and try to pay her last respects to Jesus . She left early, to escape the gloom of the disciples. She left early, to escape being noticed by the outside authorities.


The authorities had killed Jesus as if he were a common criminal. Mary was determined Jesus would have at least have a decent burial, with some dignity. When she arrived at the tomb, her exhaustion and fatigue were temporarily forgotten, as she experienced the shock of her life. Her broken heart was being given one more strange and cruel twist.

The stone had been rolled away, and the tomb was empty.
There was no time to be tired now. Something big was happening.
Mary Magdalene ran to tell the other disciples of her discovery.

Being the typical men of their day, they did not believe a woman's testimony. They had to go and see this for themselves. They had to touch the stone before they would believe it had been moved. They had to enter the tomb for themselves before they would believe it was empty.

After the men had come and checked it all out, it was now Mary's turn to go into the tomb. She had first come here, expecting to find a dead body, and instead she found nothing. Now she entered in, expecting to see nothing, and found two very alive bodies. Two angels were now sitting in the tomb, treating this common grave as if it were the most holy place in all the world. Again, Mary was shocked. This turned to amazement when the angels asked her why she was weeping. Choking back the tears, she told them "They have taken away my teacher, and I don't know where to find his body." She wanted his body.

Mary did not yet understand what was going on. Her exhaustion and grief were preventing her from appreciating the significance of the events which were unfolding around her. She turned away from the angels and left the tomb, thinking they were someone's idea of a cruel joke. Maybe she should have stayed in bed. Maybe she should have had a second cup of coffee. It was while she was stumbling around dazed and confused, that she ran into Jesus. Blinded by her tears, she did not recognize him. She stands there weeping, telling her story. She still had a powerful attachment to Jesus . She wants his body. It is as if she was willing to carry his corpse singlehanded, to take him back to his grave. She desperately wants to cling to Jesus .

When you were small, did you have a favourite blanket or stuffed toy? The kind you kept with you at all times? It was your security blanket. It made you feel safe, wherever you went. As we grew older, those blankets wore out, and our teddies lost their stuffing. Even though they become worn out, and not appropriate to carry around, we still sometimes like to cling to our security blankets for protection. Sooner or later, though, the day comes when we have to give up our teddy bears, and find comfort in other things.

For Mary Magdalene, Jesus was her security blanket. Then he was killed on a cross. Now Mary wanted to make his grave her new source of comfort. It was to be her new security blanket. But this was not what Jesus wanted. When she did recognize him, he did not want her to cling to him anymore. He was changing. He was no longer the same Jesus she knew and loved. Her relationship with him was going to have to change as well. He was becoming one with God. This meant he couldn't be touched or known in the old ways any more. Now it was time for the old relationship to end, and to exchange it for a relationship which was not limited by time or physical location.

Now it was time for her to live not with him, but in him. By his resurrection, Christ seeks to live in each of us, as we learn to live life through him. It was time for Mary Magdalene to be free from her fear of death, and to let go of her security blanket, and gain for herself an Easter faith. A faith which would enable her to live life in all its fullness and boldness.

The events of Easter are all about this transition, of experiencing things in a new way. It is a challenge to have an Easter faith in a world which is dominated by the powers of death. The powers and events which tire us, exhaust us, drain us of our vital sense of life. It is a challenge to have faith, a trusting relationship with Jesus, but we need it, desperately. For we can't do it all on our own. It is the Risen Christ who has the power to overcome fear and death itself. It is he who gives us the ability to live life in all its fullness.


Today, it was Mary's turn to tell her story of faith.
For she was the first to meet the risen Jesus outside his empty tomb.
She was the first to believe.
She became a witness to the resurrection.
She was the first disciple to be commissioned by Jesus
to preach the good news to the others and to the entire world.

In the face of her loss, grief and sorrow, Christ met her, and was born anew in her.

It is because of daring actions like hers, that we too can take this journey through Lent,
that we can face the darkness of our own Good Fridays,
and be met by the risen Christ at the empty tomb.

On this day we celebrate the fact that it is now our turn.
We are able to meet him. Here.

Even if you are tired and empty, especially if you are tired and empty, Christ meets us.
He meets us as we are, where we are.
For he is seeking to be resurrected in you.
Amen.

(Comments to James at mwuc@total.net.)
Montreal West United Church