GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: SATURDAY, 22ND JULY 2017
FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE
FIRST READING: Song of Songs 3:1-4
PSALM: Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9
GOSPEL: John 20:1-2, 11-18
THEME: A WOMAN IN LOVE
When you love someone deeply you cannot hide it. It would certainly manifest: “On my bed night after night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. I must arise now and go about the city; in the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves” (Sg. 3:1-2).
Mary Magdalene was in love with Jesus. She was a woman reported to have been delivered of seven demons by Jesus (cf. Lk. 8:2). Her love for Jesus was so deep that she accompanied him in his evangelistic ministry (cf. Lk. 8:1-2) and was present at the foot of the cross when Jesus was dying (cf. Jn 19:25). She is credited as the first witness of the empty tomb and the resurrected Christ. She earned the title “Apostle to the Apostles” in the early Church on account of the directive given to her by the risen Christ: “Go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (Jn 20:17).
Her deep love for Jesus can be discerned at various levels in the Gospel text for today. For example, she explains her reason for weeping at the tomb of Jesus in these words: “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him” (Jn 20:13). In this instance, she personalizes her relationship with the Lord and speaks of “my Lord”. Again, she tells the ‘gardener’: “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away” (Jn 20:15). The expression, “I will take him away” carries with it a tone of a personal relationship with Jesus.
Jesus’ statement to her: “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (Jn 20:17) further gives an image of a woman who was intimately in love with Jesus and would want to hold on to him forever. In sum, Mary Magdalene was a woman who was not ashamed to declare in words and by actions, in private and in public that she was in love with Jesus.
However, the love that Mary had for Jesus was not that kind of love that fiction writers and some Hollywood movies would want us to believe. Hers was not a tumultuous emotion that disregards the virtue of self-control; rather it was love born out of faith, directed by faith and oriented towards faith. This is where she stands out as a model disciple for all Christians.
There is no reason why we should be ashamed of letting the world know that we love Jesus. There is no point being ashamed of our Christian identity. There is no reason to be ashamed of carrying our Bibles or making the sign of the cross in public. There is no point being ashamed of talking about our experiences of Jesus with someone. If you truly love Jesus, it would truly show.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, my love for you is only a shadow of your love for me. On the cross, you gave your all. Empowered by your Spirit, may I also give my all and love you with my whole heart. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).