Devotions for the week of: April 15, 2020
Reading:
John 20:1-18 (NRSV)
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.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look[a] 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,[b] “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.
I still remember first hearing someone point out that the earliest preachers of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection were women. I was stunned. Somehow, I had gotten through my first three decades of life in the Christian church without realizing this simple truth. God had first entrusted this great good news to lowly women followers.
By the time I heard this, I was already on my way to seminary, just six years after our denomination had voted to allow women to serve as ordained ministers. I struggled with my worthiness to embrace this holy vocation, not just because I was a woman, but because I felt I wasn’t good enough for this high calling.
Mary Magdalene was not highly qualified to be one of the first to tell the good news of God’s victory over death. Her relationship with Jesus began, just as ours does, with her deep need – she was possessed with seven demons, a symbolic number to let us know the seriousness of her incapacity. She no doubt lived a life of poverty, was labeled unclean, and was treated as an outcast. Jesus healed her and in turn she became one of the cadre of women who followed him, providing from their own resources for Jesus and the twelve disciples.
(Luke 8:1-3)
Now we meet Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb. Women were not considered worthy witnesses in first-century Palestine, and so could stay close at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus without fearing for their lives. Mary had witnessed that agony and now confronted fresh pain as she came to make her last act of caring for her teacher’s bruised body. Thus, it was this woman, whom all others of her time would have thought useless and worthless, who was chosen to be the first to see and hear the risen Lord Jesus Christ, and chosen to be the first evangelist, the first to announce resurrection hope!
Who am I to wonder about my credentials to be a bearer of the good news of the risen Lord, a guardian of the Gospel for my church? Grateful and forgiven sinners are the only folks the Spirit has available to carry out the command of the Risen Lord to “Go and tell.” God knows the world needs this good news these difficult days. Mary Magdalene has led the way, it is our turn now.
Prayer:
Gracious God, thank you for the opportunity to share your good news. Help us to convey the truth of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rev. Dr. Karen Soli
Sioux Falls, SD
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