Mary Magdalene’s world had officially hit rock bottom. Her Master murdered, his body buried in a borrowed grave, his body stolen.
Have you ever had a moment like this? In which you came looking for God yet could not find him? In the midst of Mary’s darkest moment, the Son—the S-O-N son—came out. She didn’t recognize her Lord, so Jesus called her by name. In a second her world went from a dead Jesus to a living one. She took hold of him. Even if the gesture lasted only a moment, Jesus allowed it.
This moment serves a sacred role in the Easter story. It, at once, reminds us that Jesus is the conquering King and Good Shepherd. He has power over death, but he also has a soft spot for the Mary Magdalenes of the world. Our regal hero is relentlessly tender.
