Commentary on the Gospel of
The Gospel today is the narration of the post-resurrection encounter of Jesus with Mary Magdalene. It was the result of a loving and intense search. She shed tears in front of the tomb. When one seeks Jesus in love, Jesus allows the one to find him! The motive is love, not self-gain. This seems to be the way of the mystics, and Mary Magdalene epitomizes that way. It is no easy path, as it entails the ‘darkness’, ‘the tomb’ and ‘weeping’. Moreover, the close intimacy and union with Jesus is not for oneself, but is a gift to be shared. Mary Magdalene is a saint for these times. She invites us through the command of Jesus, to preach the message of brotherhood and sisterhood, by sharing one’s own experience of ‘seeing the Lord’.
There are moments in life in which everything crumbles down. It seems that everything has come to an end. Death, disasters, pain, disillusionments, betrayals! There are many things that can make us lose the earth under our feet and produce in us a profound crisis, but something different can also take place. Unexpectedly, the encounter with a friend can give us back the sense of life and make us discover that love is stronger than death and defeat. In the way in which the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene is described we distinguish the stages followed, from the painful seeking for the dead friend to the encounter of the risen Lord. These are also the stages that we all follow, along our life, seeking God and in living out the Gospel. It is the process of death and of resurrection.
