But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb… She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher)… Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:11-18, excerpts
My home church, Mt. Lebanon UMC in Pittsburgh, PA, has a stunning stained-glass depiction of Mary encountering Jesus in the garden after his resurrection. It always captured my attention and sparked my imagination. Whenever I am able to return to worship with that congregation, I make sure to take in that window.
It’s a story that lends itself so well to artistic and dramatic reproduction, in part due to the juxtaposition of familiarity and surprise in Mary’s face and exclamation of “Teacher!”. She is, very understandably, surprised to see her friend she watched be murdered just days ago and hear his voice. And yet, his face, his voice, and his gentleness are so poignantly familiar to her.
She at first does not believe it. Who would? This is not in her understanding of what God can do.
How often do we too limit our understanding of what God can do?
Yet, our God is a God full of surprises. How might we ready ourselves for God to surprise us throughout this Resurrection season, including during General Conference? How do we train ourselves to not make up our minds about what God can do, limiting our vision and dampening our spirits?
When the unfamiliar angels announce that Christ has risen to Mary, she cannot understand it. However, the resurrection is known to Mary through her relationship with Christ. Our relationships too open our eyes to the miracle of resurrection and to all of God’s surprises. The life and death of those we love open our eyes to the beauty of living and the hope of resurrection. The experience of those who are different from us reveal the diversity of ways that God reveals God’s self in this world. Intentional relationships illuminate all that God can do.
I pray that in we Easter season, we may all deepen our relationships in pursuit of God’s surprises and resurrection news.