In Grief and Glory

One of my favorite Gospel stories takes place on Easter morning; it centers around Mary Magdalene. Heartbroken, devastated, Mary has gone to the tomb of Jesus to grieve, but his body is no longer there. Most of you have experienced grief; it is concussive, debilitating. Mary can hardly breathe, and her eyes are so drenched with tears she mistakes the risen Christ for the gardener:

Now 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.
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (John 20:11–16)

She turned toward him. It is one of the best lines in all of Scripture. In her trauma and grief, she turns to face Jesus.

I adore this story for so many reasons. Jesus chose Mary Magdalene—a single woman he invited into his inner circle, something no rabbi at that time would have even considered. He chose this very special friend of his to appear to on Easter morning before anyone else. Even before Peter and John. This is so beautiful I cry every time I read it.

It is a very mystical story, by the way. Mary speaks to angels; she sees the resurrected Christ and speaks with him as well. It is all reported as quite normal. So we will have to include Mary Magdalene among the first of the famous Christian mystics. She is experiencing the Kingdom and its King.

Jesus simply says her name, “Mary!” And she turns.

That is all we need to do as well. This is the basic practice of learning to take refuge in God, this turning of the heart. The practice is closer, simpler, and more accessible to you than you might think.

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