April 12
JOHN 20
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 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.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for 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.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
– John 20:11-18
JOHN 20 BEHOLDING THE RISEN CHRIST
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
Why are you weeping my beloved faithful one?
I had to die on the cross so you can receive eternal life
Do not grieve without hope for I am with you always
Share what you have witnessed to all your brothers.
Weeping would be something one would do when you lose a loved one. As in this case, we see that she must have gone back to the tomb after she called Peter and John and by this time was alone. She had all the time in the world to mourn her beloved Master. She must have been so focused on that area where they laid Jesus and the cloths were all that is left on that stone. When someone spoke to her, her eyes must have been covered with tears and couldn’t see much, so she didn’t recognize her beloved Lord at first. He must have been by the door, behind her which didn’t give her a good view of who it was who was speaking to her. Sometimes, we lose focus of God because we are overwhelmed.
REFLECTION
• What other things could take away our focus on God and fail to recognize him?
