Outside the tomb in the darkness Mary Magdalene stands alone, weeping. She has proved her devotion and courage. She stood with the Mother of Jesus at the foot of the Cross. But she's broken now by grief and by her fear that the body of Jesus has been stolen. Everything is dark. What she had hoped for is gone.
She turns and sees a man whom she presumes is the gardner. She asks where the body is. The man simply says her name, "Mary," and she immediately knows it's Jesus. She hears the love in the simple sound of his voice speaking her name.
"My dear Master," is all she can say. The darkness is gone, the grief, the fear, and in their place is wonder, peace, joy, and life-changing faith. Her relationship with this Risen Jesus will be deeper, more intimate, than before. He will live in her and she in him. An eternal union.
I've had my share of darkness, fear, grief,suffering, and sometimes it felt like Jesus was nowhere in sight. Mary Magdalene tells me, as well as the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." He is with us now forever. The Risen Jesus lives in us and loves us.
In him a new age has dawned,
the long reign of sin is ended,
a broken world has been renewed,
and humanity is once again made whole.
(Easter Preface 4, in the old translation)
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