C-19 Reflection #17: Easter Sadness
C-19 Reflection #17
Theme: Easter Sadness
Scripture Reading: John 20:10-18
10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Reflection Questions:
1. Eastern Orthodox Christians have a tradition of referring to Lent as the “Bright Sadness.” Why could we refer to the first Easter as a kind of bright sadness as well?
2. Why was Mary crying? Why doesn’t she recognize Jesus? How does her sadness block her vision? Reflect on how grief operates in our lives and affects us.
3. The risen Jesus comes to Mary in her despair. What does this tell us about Jesus? What insight does it give us on the relationship between sorrow and resurrection? (See John 11:33-36)
4. Mary thinks that Jesus is the gardener. How might we think about Jesus as the gardener of our sorrow? Check out a few key passages about Jesus and tears. (Matt 5:4; Luke 19:41; Luke 17:14-15)
5. Mary recognizes Jesus after he speaks to her by name. How do you explain this? Why is it so powerful that we are named and addressed by God personally? Reflect on a time when this experience made a difference in your life?
6. Mary names her grief (v.13). Take some time to name your sadness, on the surface or deep. Take some time to pray over your sadness for yourself, for your closest family and friends, for your neighbors and colleagues, for the church community, for the world situation.
7. Reflect on the following quotes from Adele Calhoun:
“How remarkable that God has hardwired us to weep when we come to the end of our resources.”
“The world needs people who are fluent in the language of tears.”
8. Stay in your reflection and prayer about tears as long as you need but try not to stay there forever. When you come to finish your reflection, use the following verse to guide your prayer:
“For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” ~ Psalm 30:5
