Today in the gospel we encounter Mary looking for Jesus. The tomb is open and the body is missing. In her haste she sees a man who She thinks is the gardener. This gardener as she assumes is really Jesus but she cannot recognize him in that moment.
Why can't Mary recognize Jesus who is right in front of her nose?
Two things...
One) she can't see Jesus because of her grief. Her grief blinds her. The darkness of sorrow keeps her from recognizing the face of Jesus that stands before her. Grief does this. It keeps us from seeing clearly.
Second) Jesus is different. He is not the same. The resurrection changed how Jesus is to be recognized. He has entered into suffering and redeems it. He has entered death and brought light. Thus, he stretches our limits, the limits we place on how God can be and is in our life.
The thing that remains the same is the sound of Mary's name from the lips of Jesus.
Faith comes by hearing. Though our eyes may fail the call of Jesus remains the same.
Jesus' call brings Mary back to reality and leads her through her Grief. It also empowers her to speak the nAme of Christ to others since she has heard her name in him. Having heard our name pulls us from ourselves and empowers us to speak to others. It changes how we speak the names of those around us. Once he has addressed us we now address others with that same compassion.
We speak the name of others as he speaks ours.
Only then can we recognize the reality of belonging to the same family;; thus we can say with Christ, my father and his father. And your father is our father.
The resurrection is the tie that binds us all together.
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