Message of Abbot Paul - Thursday 22nd July

Message from Fr Paul for Thursday, 22nd July 2021

           Today, 22nd July, the Church celebrates the feast of St Mary Magdalene, friend and disciple of Jesus, given the title Apostle of the Apostles, as it was she who brought to the Twelve and their companions the good news that Jesus had truly risen from the dead and that there was nothing to fear. It’s wonderful that a woman should have this title, as it shows what an apostle truly is, not a priest or a bishop, but a disciple sent by Jesus to proclaim the good news of his resurrection. There is another New testament woman who bears the title Apostle, St Lydia of Philippi, who is known as Equal to the Apostles by our Eastern brethren. She was appointed by St Paul to lead the first Christian community in that city, as attested in Acts and the Letter to the Philippians.

           Our Gospel passage today comes from John, (Jn 20: 1-2, 11-18), and recounts what happened early on that first Easter morning. “It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’” Mary was the very first to arrive at the tomb once the sabbath was over, but she did not expect what she found: the stone moved away from the entrance of the tomb. She does not venture inside, but runs off to tell Simon Peter and the Beloved Disciple, probably John himself. The visit of the apostles to the tomb is omitted and we pick up the story a bit later on, when Mary returns to the garden and the tomb. “Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’” She plucks up courage to look inside, but she’s weeping. She sees two angels in white sitting where the body had lain. They address her as “Woman,” the same word used by Jesus of his mother at the Wedding Feast of Cana and, again, when hanging on the Cross. They ask her why she is weeping and she pours out her heart to them as she had done with Peter and the other disciple. Does she imply that the angels themselves have taken Jesus away? But the story doesn’t stop there, for “As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Jesus and Mary, one of the most touching moments in the Bible, excruciating. It always brings tears to my eyes. To begin with he, too, calls her “Woman,” but then by her name, Mary. At that very moment she knows it's Jesus, “Rabbuni,” she calls him, but she’s not to cling to him and keep him for herself, no, she must announce to the others that he is risen, that he is risen for all. His brothers and sisters, for you and me. Not only is he risen from the dead, but he will ascend to the Father, Jesus, the gardener of our hearts and souls. “So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.” And she became the Apostle of the Apostles. May she pray for us today as we, too, search for the divine gardener in the garden of the resurrection. Amen.