Easter Sunday
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April 19, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John 20:1-9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary Magdalene is a female\ndisciple that loves her Teacher deeply, and being a woman, there is something\nthat she teaches us. Luke describes her in his Gospel as a woman \u201cfrom whom\nseven demons have come out\u201d [see Luk 8:2]. It must be a terrible experience to\nbe tormented by seven demons, and when Jesus heals her, she expresses her deep\ngratitude by following Jesus. As one of Jesus\u2019 disciples, she is proven to be\nthe most faithful to her Teacher. When many followers of Jesus are running away\nto save their lives, and even Peter, the leading figure in the group, denies\nJesus, Mary follows Jesus in His way of the Cross to the end. She received the\ninsult Jesus receives, she bears the humiliation Jesus bears, she carries the\ncross Jesus carries. In fact, she is standing beside the cross together with\nthe mother of Jesus and John the beloved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Mary\u2019s love is even\nbigger than death. She is the first person who visits the tomb early in the\nmorning. We recall that after Jesus died on the cross, his body was hastily brought\nto the tomb by Nicodemus and Joseph Arimathea because the Sabbath was drawing\nnear. During Sabbath, Jews are not allowed to bury the dead. Mary knows that\nJesus\u2019 body was not taken care properly, and she wants to make sure that Jesus\ndeserves the proper burial. She comes to the tomb to express her love for the\nlast time for the Teacher by anointing the body of Jesus. Yet, she only sees\nthe empty tomb. Fear seizes her. She may think that some bad guys stole, inflicted\nfurther damages and desecrated the body. Instinctively, she runs towards the\nmen of authority after Jesus Himself, Peter and John. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After checking the tomb, Peter\nfails to understand, and he goes back to the house. She also does not\nunderstand and weeps for the lost of her love, but unlike Peter, Mary stays at\nthe tomb. In utter confusion and meaninglessness, Mary does not abandon Jesus. Indeed,\nthe Savior does not disappoint and gives Mary Magdalene a singular privilege to\nwitness the resurrected Jesus. Her great love and fidelity lead her to the joy\nof Resurrection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Gospel, often female disciples are depicted as a model of love and perseverance. God created man and woman as equal in dignity, but they differ in characters. Indeed, men like Peter, are the figures of authority, but women excel in what often is lacking in male disciples. I have visited many places in Indonesia and the Philippines, and I give talks and reflections, but one thing in common from these places, is that women often outnumber the men. I am newly assigned in Redemptor Mundi Parish, Surabaya, Indonesia, and a simple gaze will prove that more women are attending our daily morning masses. Mary Magdalene, a woman disciple, shows to us that it is possible to love and to be faithful when things got tough and rough, when life throws us its trash, and when confusion and meaningless seem to reign. Mary is those women who unceasingly pray for the priests despite so many failures they have made Mary are those mothers who make daily sacrifices for their children despite being unappreciated. Mary is those religious sisters who serve the poor committedly despite many setbacks and problems. We must thank many Mary Magdalene around us. They show us that there love truly conquers death and that there is resurrection in even the senseless empty tomb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blessed Easter!
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Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi\nRuseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Easter Sunday April 19, 2019 John 20:1-9 Mary Magdalene is a female disciple that loves her Teacher deeply, and being a woman, there is something that she teaches us. Luke describes her in his Gospel as a woman \u201cfrom whom seven demons have come out\u201d [see Luk 8:2]. It must be a terrible experience to be tormented by seven demons, and when Jesus heals her, she expresses her deep gratitude by following Jesus. As one of Jesus\u2019 disciples, she is…<\/p>\n