Daily Reflection – 7/22/19
Sacred Scripture
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.” But 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 around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” 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 Teacher). 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. (John 20: 1-2; 11-18)
Reflection
There are moments that occur in all of our lives that define who we are. For most people these moments include their day of birth, choice of life’s work, the choice of marrying or staying single, the birth of children and of course death. As Christians our lives are also made up of moments or events that define our Christian lives. These moments mark for us God’s gracious action in our lives.
On Easter morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. Jesus’ body was gone. All she could think of was that somebody had stolen His body. What is so special about Mary, and this passage from the Gospel is that the moments that define her life and make it special are the moments that define our lives too – as the children of God.
Baptism – Like Mary Magdalene, we too have been delivered from the kingdom of Satan. In baptism the Lord freed us from Satan’s power. In baptism our Lord called us to follow Him all the days of our lives and be His disciples
Life at the foot of the cross – As His disciples we have followed Him. Through the hearing of God’s word we have joined Mary at the foot of the cross. We have seen our dying savior and we know why He is dying. He is dying for Mary and He dying for us. He is dying because of our sins. He is taking our place, taking our guilt and taking our punishment. For His sake we have received forgiveness and reconciliation to God.
Standing at the empty tomb – Again with Mary because of her testimony recorded in scripture, we visit the empty tomb. With the eyes of faith, we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead for our justification, proclaiming our innocence before God. We share in Mary’s joy and hope in a Savior that will never leave us nor forsake us. In Jesus we have the hope of eternal life.
The first time Mary met Jesus; Jesus proclaimed His victory over Satan by casting out her demons. At the empty tomb Jesus proclaimed His victory over Satan’s curse on this world – death. Then Jesus told Mary to go and tell the disciples the good news. After meeting Jesus, life would never be the same for us. In our baptism, in our lives lived at the foot of the cross, knowing what Jesus has done for us, having faith in Christ’s resurrection we too join that great cloud of witnesses that has gone before us that proclaims God’s grace in Jesus Christ to the world. These are the moments that define our lives.
Prayer of The Day
Lord, we praise you for the gift of our lives and for the many blessings in our lives. You are our rock and our salvation; we praise you and thank you for all that we have and all that we are. Help us to never veer from your path and your ways. May we each be good stewards of all that you entrust to us. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Daily Note
Take a moment and ask yourself: When was the last time you experienced the presence of Jesus? Perhaps it simply was a sense that Jesus was present to you? Did you cling to this experience? Did you share your experience with anyone? It is a wondrous gift to see or sense Jesus’ presence and love! At times, this gift may be a direct encounter with Jesus. At other times, we may experience Jesus as another person being attentive or loving with us! Or it may be in the beauty of a sunrise, a hug from a child, a smile from a stranger. Jesus is with us always! However, we have to have open eyes, an open mind and an open heart in every situation in our lives! Otherwise, we most likely will miss seeing Him!!
