Thoughts for the Day

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ ....

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Master). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Today we celebrate the life of Mary Magdalene. All four gospels give her a unique place among Jesus' followers. Probably from Magdala a fishing village on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, she was healed by Jesus before accompanying him during his ministry. Along with other faithful women, she stayed beside the cross during his crucifixion and was the first disciple to discover the empty tomb on Easter morning. She was also the first to see the risen Lord, who sent her to tell the good news of His resurrection to the other disciples. Thomas Aquinas, was to call her the "Apostle to the Apostles".

St Luke tells us in his Gospel how Jesus went from to town announcing the Good News of the Kingdom of God with the twelve Apostles, together with some women. Among them was Mary, Magdalene" (Luke 8.1-3). Tradition has often claimed she was a prostitute because of a confusion between different women who washed the feet of Jesus. It's more likely she was healed from a mental illness. Whatever the reason Mary is there at the crucifixion of Jesus observing him with other women from afar. She is still there when Joseph of Arimathea places the body of Jesus in the sepulchre, which is closed with a stone. And on the morning of the first day of the week, she returns to the tomb to find the stone rolled away, before running to warn Peter and John who hurry to the tomb and discover that the body of the Lord is missing.

But perhaps her most important action is that when the two disciples return home Mary remains at the tomb. Her initial disbelief turns to faith when she sees the two angels. On seeing Jesus Himself she thinks He is the gardener, but when Jesus says her name, she recognizes Him at once: Jesus then gives her the task for which we call her "The Apostle to the Apostles". She is to go and tell them them that she has seen the Lord, and that he is ascending to his Father, "to my God and your God." Mary has proved she loved the Lord more than any other person - she did not deny him or run away in fear as the other disciples did, but remained close to him for every moment, including at the tomb.

Collect for Mary Magdalene:

Almighty God,
whose Son restored Mary Magdalene
to health of mind and body
and called her to be a witness to His resurrection:
forgive our sins and heal us by Your grace,
that we may serve You in the power of His risen life.
Amen.