THE STUFF OF RECOGNITION

THE STUFF OF RECOGNITION

            I want to share one more Resurrection reflection – the present world is so cruddy that I need to have a bit more radiating power of the Resurrection before coming back down to the grind of this world.   Caroline and I were fortunate to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44^th President of the United States in 2009.  It was a bitterly cold day, and about 9 AM the sun rose over the Capitol Building, and we all cheered!  That’s what I’m doing here – seeking one last feeling of the warmth and the light of the Resurrection before getting back to the routine.

            She comes to the tomb alone in John’s Gospel – no other women or men disciples.  Mary Magdalena comes to the tomb of Jesus, not looking for a miracle, but  out of love and compassion for her executed friend – she wants to give him a proper burial by anointing his body.  She then sees that the stone has been rolled away from the tomb, and she runs to get some of the male disciples.  In a semi-comic routine in John’s account, Peter and the other “one whom Jesus loved,” have a testosterone derby.  They look into the tomb, and it is empty, and they see no one else.  They then go back, and Mary is left alone again.  Then the show begins – the actors have waited on Mary to be alone before the curtain goes up.  Let’s make that point clearly – they chose to appear to the woman disciple, not to the men.  They have deliberately waited – she is to be the primary witness to the Resurrection.

            Mary, however, is not able to see the show – she does not have eyes to see.  She sees two angels dressed in white, but she doesn’t get it.  She does not recognize the Resurrection.  Then, the risen Jesus appears in front of her, but she does not recognize him either.   I have always been intrigued by the fact that Mary Magdalena does not recognize the risen Jesus.  It’s not that she thinks that he is a ghost – she thinks that he is the caretaker of the cemetery.   It’s not that he is silent – they talk with one another.  It is not like she recognizes him and just refuses to believe that it is true, just too good to be true.  She is genuinely UNABLE to recognize him.  Why?   Her perceptual apparatus has been captured by the power of death, and she is unable to see the risen Jesus.  She sees the caretaker of the cemetery.  This lack of recognition is a powerful metaphor for us of every age and in every age.  We often simply do not believe that the risen Jesus is standing in front of us, and like Mary Magdalena, we are unable to recognize him.  This story turns not on the power of Mary’s inadequate will.  Her will is powerful – she comes to the tomb while darkness still prevails.  In a patriarchal world, she comes alone to the tomb – her will is powerful.  This story turns rather on her inadequate imagination.  She believes that death has won – there is no possibility of a risen Jesus. 

            Like her, we have come to believe that death rules, that Trump rules, that money rules, that race rules, that gender rules, that sexual orientation rules, that violence and guns rule.   Our eyes glaze over, our hearts shrink, our imaginations truncate.  We give ourselves over to the fallen powers of the world that are glad to tell us that they rule – that violence, death, money and so many other powers rule. And we are like Mary Magdalena at the tomb – we long so much for life, but we believe in death.  We are simply unable to recognize the risen Jesus standing right in front of us.  Fortunately for her, and for us, Mary does come to recognize the risen Jesus.  Do you remember this story?  If so, what causes Mary to recognize the risen Jesus?  If you don’t remember, or, if you have never read this story, please go read John 20:1-18 and let us all know what causes the scales to fall from the eyes of Mary.  And, in so doing, may we all encounter the risen Jesus, and like Mary Magdalena, may we know, and may we run to tell the others, as she does:  “I have seen the Lord!”