Easter Season with the First Disciples: Mary Magdalene

“So [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary] left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’”

—Matthew 28:8–10

As I watch this scene unfold in my imagination, I cannot help but laugh.

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, are running from Jesus’ tomb. They had just seen an angel who told them with great fanfare (the earth itself shook with the news) that Jesus had been raised from the dead. “Go quickly,” the angel tells them, “and tell his disciples to meet him in Galilee!”

I crack up when I hear Jesus say to them, “Greetings!” (although, in my imagination, Jesus shouts “Hey, Mary!”). At that moment, I realize that Jesus is excited to see Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. That makes sense. Jesus is excited to tell the disciples the Good News of his victory over sin and death as much as anyone, if not more so. After all, Jesus knew how defeated, lost, and dejected they must have felt just a few days earlier. They saw him—and with him their hopes and dreams—die on the Cross.

Jesus probably couldn’t wait to see them. And that is why I laugh when I imagine Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus: it is the laughter of excitement that accompanies a surprise.
by Bob Burnham, author of Little Lessons from the Saints

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WRITTEN BY: Stephen Sander