Pastor Don’s Corner . . .
“Woman, why are you weeping?”John 20:13a, 15a NRSV
In the Gospel according to John, this question is asked twice on the third day after Jesus’ death, both times of Mary Magdalene: Once by the two angels in the tomb who were sitting where Jesus’ body had been lain; and, the second by Jesus himself as Mary turned away from the empty tomb and saw him standing nearby.
The question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” could easily be dismissed as a rhetorical question in the face of Mary’s perceived loss in the death and, now, disappearance of her friend, Jesus. Still, that the question is repeated, first by the angels who announce ‘Good News’ both at Jesus’ birth and at Jesus’ resurrection, then by Jesus Himself as he stands near to one who knew Him well and now does not recognize Him, gives even the most casual reader of this account reason to pause. “Woman, why are you weeping?” is a question demanding personal response in this age. “Why are you weeping?”
Don’t you understand?
Don’t you see what God is doing?
After all of these signs, including Lazarus, do you still believe in death’s power?
How can it be that Rome still has such control over your spirit?
How is it that a heart can be led to freedom yet, when challenged, return to slavery?
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
This question is not just of Mary, it is addressed to the Mary in all of us: to the doubt that prevails over faith, to the despair which darkens hope, to the death which tears apart life, to the separation which rends unity. “Woman, why are you weeping?” is heaven’s question of our trembling knees and tear-streaked faces as we look heavenward and cry out for answers in the face of earthly tyrants, all the while facing the Christ of God among us, Alive, Conqueror, King.
“Woman, why are you weeping?” is an invitation to Truth, to Spirit, to New Life, from the lips of the One who shows the way.
Maybe this is why the author of John diminishes the power of death in Jesus speaking our name: “Mary!” At the sound of her name, Mary recognizes Jesus. At the sound of her name, Mary no longer weeps. At the sound of her name, what is lost is Found. At the sound of her name, what was grief becomes Joy. At the sound of her name, what was unrecognizable is now Apparent. At the sound of her name . . . at the sound of our name, Jesus announces a new community and extends His nail-scarred hand to walk with us into it.
In the nearing of Holy Week, in the imminence of Jerusalem, in the shadows of betrayal, in the shame of desertion, in the visage of a cross being borne down the streets of the city, in the starkness of death in Golgotha . . . maybe what all of us long for most is to hear our name upon the lips of Jesus calling us to life from the hell of death surrounding us every day. We weep for earthquake victims, bombing victims, abused children, abused spouses; We weep for diagnosis’ of cancer, MS, CF, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and even for the lack of diagnosis; We weep for children who will not grow up and for adults who never mature; We weep for a world that believes more in financing assistance of every kind than offering a hand of any kind; We weep for futures never realized and a present which overwhelms us. We weep outside the tomb while the angels and Jesus ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Then He calls our name and we realize we do not have to weep anymore. This is the power of Easter for which Jesus came.
A blessed Easter to all!
Pastor Don
