Saturday, May 24, 2014
John 20:13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
HE LIVES TO WIPE AWAY MY TEARS
Why did Mary react so differently? It seems clear that she was overcome by her sorrow. She had, in a manner of speaking, lost Jesus twice. She "lost" Him when He died and again when His body disappeared. Mary's tears of grief and pain were like a veil that hid the truth from her eyes.
We might be tempted to criticize Mary for her hopeless grief. After all, she saw with her own eyes evidence of Jesus' power as God. Mary herself had been under the power of seven demons until Jesus Himself sent them on their way (cf. Mark 16:9).
It's easy to criticize Mary, but we have the benefit of looking back on these things now more than 2000 years past. It would be better -- at least more honest -- to put ourselves in her place.
Let's wear her sandals for a moment.
How would you feel if your greatest earthly friend suddenly died and when you went to visit the grave a few days later you found the gravestone toppled over and the grave empty?
Instead of criticizing Mary Magdalene, we ought to pray that the LORD would help us when WE are overcome by grief at death. If you've ever "lost" someone close to you, a loved grandparent, a father, a spouse or a sibling, then you know what it's like to feel the sorrow of separation. It hurts to know that you won't be able to talk to that person again, to seek advice, to express love, to spend time.
In the face of death, we too have failed to see and remember that all is not lost! If our loved ones have confessed faith in Christ and trusted in Him for salvation, then they are not lost at all. They are with the Lord, which is -- according to God's error-less Word -- far better (Philippians 1:23).
Moreover, when we are overcome by grief and dealing with the departure of a loved one, that's when we need one another. This is part of the reason that we have been gathered together into a congregation by God the Holy Spirit, for mutual comfort and support.
