Attempt for a few seconds to imagine the despair, the disappointment and the sadness Mary Magdalene experienced when she did not find Jesus’ body in the tomb.
“Who could have done this? Where have they taken him?” She was probably condemning and judging Jesus’ enemies, blaming them and cursing them for stealing the body. Her already deteriorated spirit from the events of the preceding days weakened even more. “I cannot take it much longer,” she must have thought. “When will this suffering stop? I thought it could not get any worse, yet here I am!”
Yet that very same day, after experiencing the depths of pain and suffering, Mary Magdalene experienced unmatchable bliss and joy. The darkness and turbulence that had settled over her vanished immediately at the first sight of her Risen Lord.
The power of the Risen Christ dispelled the darkness, crushing all pain and sorrow.
The power of the Risen Christ gave her hope and strength to continue living despite the bruises and wounds of her life.
Let’s call this sudden movement from the utter darkness of pain and sorrow into the light of hope and joy of Jesus Christ a “Mary Magdalene moment.”
We have all experienced, or perhaps are experiencing now, the first half of a Mary Magdalene moment. We have all experienced the cross and may have said to God with a rebellious or disappointed heart, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” We have shared in Mary Magdalene’s sorrow of not finding Jesus in the tomb. Like her, we have panicked, perhaps even blaming and cursing God in our misfortune. We have doubted His presence, help and grace.
But, note that it is in finding the Risen Christ that Mary Magdalene finds hope and joy. Jesus Christ alone does away with her sorrow and distress.
It is in the Risen Christ, risen today, that we too find hope and joy. Jesus Christ, risen today, dispels the darkness of our souls, calming our anxieties and sadness, and filling us with hope and joy.
All our troubles and sorrows find redemption and meaning in the Risen Christ. Saint Paul teaches us that had Jesus not risen from the dead, our faith would be in vain. The opposite is also true: because Jesus has risen from the dead, nothing in this life is in vain.
We too experience throughout life these polar sentiments Mary Magdalene experienced on Resurrection Sunday. It is the mystery of Easter present in our personal life story: how our pain and sorrow, when we persevere in our faith and place our trust in God, will lead to bliss and joy. Good Friday always leads to Resurrection Sunday.
We cannot fully understand how it is that the cross leads to life; how distress leads to joy. We cannot fully understand how it is that without pain there is no gain.
Yet God has graciously given us hope in the Easter mystery, the Mary Magdalene moment, so we may find hope in the Risen Christ in the midst of our troubles and sufferings.
Bring your burdens to Christ, find rest in Him who has conquered earth, find rest in Him who longs to console you, find rest in Him who can do all things.
Jesus Christ is risen today. Alleluia!
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