Easter reflection: John 20:1-18

John’s account of Jesus’ resurrection appearance begins with tears: “Mary stood outside the  tomb crying” (Jn 20:11). The greatest day of all time, the root of our joy as Christians, begins  with grief. The tears of good Friday and Holy Saturday were still wet on the faces of Jesus’ friends when he returned to them. They’d barely had a chance to process the agony of the worst  day of their lives, in which their Saviour and friend had been killed, taking with him their hopes
for the future, before everything changed again. John’s Gospel (20:11–18) records the tears that fell from Mary’s eyes three times. Perhaps John  is emphasizing how strange and unexpected it was that Jesus chose to present himself in the  way he did through sadness and loss. In the early morning light, blinded by tears and confused about where the body of her Saviour had gone, Mary mistook him for the gardener. The fact that  she didn’t recognize Jesus contains its own beautiful truth: that he, like a gardener, is ushering in new life from the depths of darkness, if only we might look for the work of his renewal. It was not until Jesus spoke Mary’s name that she finally realised who she was seeing. John 20:16 says: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ she turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘teacher’).”
The first sign of life we give as tiny babies is our cry; it’s the sound that parents wait for, their  own breath bated until their newborn at last announces its entrance into the world. The initial rush of relief and joy is often accompanied by a release of tears. Perhaps it is not so strange after all that the resurrected Jesus appeared first through tears. Our tears are our sign of life. In the easter story, they are a sign of the new life Jesus offers; the new hope he embodies now
that he has taken our sorrow to the grave. One day every tear will be wiped away. (Revelation 21:4).
This is how the hope of God shows up time and again, in scripture and today, through the ups and downs of life. It shows up in our brokenness, tears and scars. Even though Mary’s reunion with the risen Lord was perhaps not how she might have imagined it, she proclaimed: “I have seen the Lord” and, in doing so, became a bearer of good news. This is the beauty of the Easter story: as much as it is a story of triumph over the grave, it’s also  a reminder of the God who meets us in our fragility, with his gentleness. The story of Mary Magdalene demonstrates that there is life and hope amid the wounding, and it is found in the person of Jesus. So, as we re-tell the Easter story this year, from pulpits, around tables and at bedsides, I encourage you not to rush, but to pause and remember how our King came to minister to us, not through power and might but through scars and tears.

Fr Jonathan, OM

RCIA
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