Friday, April 6, 2012

A Woman and An Outcast

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. -- John 20:1

Of course she did. Where else would Mary Magdalene have been but at the tomb to care for the body of the man who had cared for her? Because people respond when we reach out to them, especially when they are rejected by others.

Let’s not forget who Mary Magdalene was. Before she followed Christ, she was a desperate woman. Jesus drove seven demons from her body. The demons could have presented themselves as what we now call schizophrenia. Others might have seen her as mentally unstable. They might have feared her. She was no doubt an outcast.

Jesus saw past all of that. He saw the woman in need and He healed her. She wasn’t likely to abandon such a man. Indeed, she was at the cross when He died. And she was there that morning to care for Him.

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. -- John 20:10-12

When Mary saw the empty tomb, she immediately sought Peter and John. They, too, viewed the empty tomb. But while the disciples left, Mary stayed. And she wept. Because the body of the man who had given her new life was gone and she didn’t know what to do.

She didn’t understand. Nobody understood at that point that Jesus had risen from the dead. How could she? Though Jesus had tried to tell His followers what would come, they couldn’t comprehend what He meant. Living on this side of Calvary, it is difficult to understand how hard this would be to grasp.

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” -- John 20:18

And she did. Of course she did. Whatever Jesus wanted, Mary would do. She owed Him that much. She loved Him that much.

Jesus loved those others had cast aside. He empowered those others looked down on. Mary was an outcast and a woman, a double problem in the minds of many religious leaders of that time. But not to Jesus. To Him, she was worthy to be the first to see Him after He was resurrected. He trusted her to spread the word of His resurrection.

She didn’t let Him down. What about you? What has Jesus trusted you to do today? Don’t let Him down. Step forward boldly, in great faith. Spread the Good News. He is Risen!