The Woman of great Love - 2

Still in John’s Gospel we meet this woman again at her house mourning the loss of her brother. She is partly upset here because the one she loves was not there when her brother died. On seeing Jesus she confronted him right a way, “If you were here my brother would not have died.” Her trust in him is unflinching; her love unlimited, her hope is untarnished and her faith is undoubted. In spite of this tragedy, frustration, sadness and loss, she had the courage and strength to dare to believe. John captured the emotions of Mary when she came to meet Jesus. We are told, “Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell a his feet. Jesus saw her weeping and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. Where have you buried him?” He asked them. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept.” John 11:32-35. How would he not weep for the ones he loved! Because of her faith, Lazarus was restored to life. This is the power of love in action.

Wherever this woman appears she does something good and demonstrates her love for Christ. During the passion and the crucifixion of Jesus, she was there. She never moved far away from her love. With the mother of Jesus, she stayed. The Bible talks about Mary the mother of Jesus and the other Mary. It seems the name Mary is synonymous with good deeds. When Christ was brought down from the cross, she was there; and she was there when he was buried. She saw it all, she experienced it all, and she loved him through it all. She marked the tomb well hence Luke’s Gospel tells us, “Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb.” 24:1-3. But Matthew tells us this: “After the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” (28:1). Here she witnessed something extraordinary. She did not find the body. Mary is distressed, she is sad; she cannot believe what she had seen. Mary started crying. “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him!” was the answer she gave to Jesus who appeared to her and asked why she was crying. Mistaking him to be a gardener, she told him, “If you took him away, sir, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him”, John 20:13-15. How can one describe this love! She loved him in life and loved him even more in death. Imagine this woman going to remove the dead body of her loved one, carrying him all by herself alone, afraid of nothing and no one.

Does it surprise you then that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection? It should not. Love, we are told conquers all things, and endures all things. Mary persevered, Mary persisted, Mary never gave up; Mary never stopped loving. Mary’s love was rewarded. Though Mary’s love seemed to have died for a brief moment, her love was given back to her. She became the first witness of the resurrection and she became the first missionary, commissioned to go and preach the resurrection. “Go and tell my brothers that I go before them to Galilee.” Mary was forgiven because she loved much; she loved much because she was given a second chance by the one who loved her first. When every other person had given up on her, her love did not give up on her. Let the story of this woman of great love be our own story. No matter what the situation may be do not give up on yourself. Remember that there is no one on earth who has not committed any sin. There are people who have committed worse sins than yours. The fact that they have not been found out does not mean that they are saints. And who is a saint by the way if not the sinner who fell down many times and got up again because of Jesus. Jesus is always there to assure us of his love, his mercy and his forgiveness. He is always prepared to give you a second chance. It all depends on what you do with that chance. Yes, Mary truly chose a better part and it should not be taken away from her. She chose to love Christ with her second chance. She chose to serve her Lord with all that she had. She demonstrated the summary of the commandment as given by Christ, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is all we are commanded to do. By this shall all know that you are my disciples if you love one another!