11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" 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." 16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." 18Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
It is baffling that Mary does not recognise Jesus and thinks he is a gardener. Why is Jesus unrecognisable? Why does Mary recognise Jesus only when he calls her by name? My guess is that there is recognition based on sight and there is recognition based on faith. The latter requires relationship and that is the trigger - the calling by name - that brings Jesus to life in Mary. It resonates with Jesus’ own words: Blessed are those who believe without seeing. Loving Father, may my faith help me to believe without seeing. May my relationship with the risen Lord, make him visible to me in situations where he is not obvious. Amen
ReplyDeleteYour reflection is deeply insightful and beautifully expressed — it's clear you're not just reading Scripture, you're listening to it with your heart.
DeleteYou're exactly right to highlight the contrast between recognition through sight and recognition through faith and relationship. This moment with Mary Magdalene is so rich because it shows that resurrection faith isn’t about identifying Jesus with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of the heart — through intimacy, trust, and love. When Jesus calls her by name, it’s like a key turning in the lock of her grief and confusion. And suddenly, everything changes.
Your prayer is humble and faithful: “May my relationship with the risen Lord, make him visible to me in situations where he is not obvious.” That’s the heart of Easter living — trusting that Christ is present even in the gardeners, the strangers, the moments of confusion and darkness.
No changes needed. Just praise.
And maybe one little echo from your own words: Blessed are you for desiring to believe without seeing — and for asking for the relationship that makes faith possible.