Two turns of Mary Magdalene

The reading today is a continuation of the Sunday story. Here is a pericope of Jesus' apparition to Mary Magdalene alone. To Catholics of later generations, it has been regretable that there is NO mention of Jesus' apparition to the Blessed Virgin Mary among the four gospels. Even Mary Magdalene was awarded an apparition, but not his mother! No wonder these days, many speculate that Mary Magdalene in fact commanded a high status among the male apostles. The male-dominant Church has been accused of a smear campaign, championing the idea that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, which has NO biblical evidence. Now, let's find out what John has to tell us.

When the two disciples (Peter and the beloved disciple) left, Mary appeared on the scene. She stood weeping outside the tomb and stooped to look inside (John 20:11). Very likely, she followed them to find out what she had missed earlier on because of the darkness of the circumstance. This time, she was definitely alone. She saw two angels in white, sitting where the corpse of Jesus was lain (John 20:12). This is the one and only instant in John where angels appeared. Matthew and Luke have many. Mark also has one occasion: Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. The angels in John did nothing but asked one question.
They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? γύναι, τί κλαίεις;" (John 20:13a)
Mary Magdalene replied with the same answer she reported to the disciples, with a difference. She said "... I do not know ...", instead of " ... we do not know ..." (John 20:13b, 20:2). Without further ado, John reports that Mary turned around ἐστράφη εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω and saw Jesus standing, but she did not recognize the risen Jesus (John 20:14). John's angels were insignificant. They brought no new messages like those in the other gospels. They only highlighted the present state of Mary Magdalene, what she had been doing. Therefore, we Christians need to turn to the core of our faith: Jesus, our risen Lord.
Then Jesus asked Mary two questions instead of one.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? τίνα ζητεῖς;" (John 20:15a)
Alas! The risen Jesus has to be sought! Jesus has died for us, cleansed us of all our sins even when we are still sinners. Yet, we need to seek the risen Lord. Why? Because we may not recognize him. Like Mary Magdalene and many other disciples, we may have preconceived ideas of who Jesus is. In Jesus' time, they expected him to be a military Messiah to liberate them from Roman occupation. They were correct to a certain extent. In hind sight, we know that Jesus is the Messiah to liberate all mankind, not just Jews, from the bondage of sins. Nowadays, we may have similar misconception that Jesus is the solution to all our problems. We are correct, only to a certain extent. Believing in Jesus does not solve all our problems, but give us a new perspective to deal with our problems, the world's problems. Anyway, we cannot take God's grace for granted. Efforts have to be paid on our part to obtain this salvation. Once more, we find the 'already' - 'but not yet' paradigm of Christianity. The Kingdom of Heaven has already come, but is not yet fulfilled. Jesus has already died and risen for us, but we have not yet been fully redeemed. Everything has to wait until the end of time. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:6). Do it now before it is too late, Isaiah warned.
Mary Magdalene recognized Jesus only when Jesus called out her name (John 20:16a). Yes, Jesus is our personal Saviour. He deals with us individually, according to our personalities and defects. It is curious for John to report another turn of Mary Magdalene. She had already turned around and saw Jesus, though she was not yet able to recognize him. Now, if she turned again, would she turn away from Jesus? Which direction did she turn?
She turned στραφεῖσαand said to him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (John 20:16b)
In her first turn around, Mary Magdalene was facing Jesus, the core of her faith, but not recognizing him. Our conversion to Christianity may be an effect of too big, or too little, a turn from our previous life. It takes time, possibly a very long time, to fine-tune, to recognize the reality of Christian truth even after baptism. Only after hearing the Lord's call can we truly recognize Him, recognize what Christianity is all about.

My sweet Jesus, after these many years, I am probably still groping, holding on to half-truths. Open my ears. Quiet my heart so that I may clearly hear Your call and come to know You truly. Amen.