“Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
She isn't entirely wrong. Jesus, you are the new Adam. Adam is charged with guarding the garden of Eden but he fails. He does not speak up when the serpent tempts Eve. He wickedly stretches out his hand toward the tree of the forbidden fruit. From that time on, the daughters of Eve cannot rely on the Sons of Adam to be there for them when they need them. Mary Magdalene is afraid that you are gone Jesus. She is afraid that she is now alone again to fend for herself amidst the temptations of the world. Her hopes that you are somehow different, that you can be with her always, and that you will speak up for her-- all these are crushed. They are so crushed that she can't even see you through her own sadness. She is so lost in grief that she can't recognize you. But it isn't up to her anymore, as it was for every daughter of Eve until now. She is lost within herself. But you do not insist that she find her way by her own strength. You speak to her. You call out. Where Adam is silent, driving Eve to sin, you speak, drawing Mary to comfort.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
Jesus you call us by name. You know us. We are not lost in the crowd. We are not lost in a sea of faces. You give us better fruit than the forbidden fruit of Eden. You give us your very self. You give us your own body and blood from the cross, the true tree of life. When we receive this fruit we ourselves bear fruit. Our fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (see Galatians 5:22-23).
Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We are so sure that we can become so distraught and distracted that you can no longer speak to us. We even use the assumption that we won't hear as an excuse not to listen. But we are no so far gone that you can't call us back. Even when we betray you and act as your enemies you want us to know you.
Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.
It is possible to choose not to listen even though we can hear you. But you do call us. And the choice to listen is always available to us as long as we live.
The earth is full of your goodness Jesus. Help us to hope for your kindness. Help us to listen as you call our name.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
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