I have seen the Lord!

At the tomb on Easter morning, Mary of Magdala recognises Jesus at the sound of her own name, ‘Mary’.

She responds with the fullness of love and faith.

In all her vulnerability, at this moment, having gone to seek out Jesus, Mary receives her apostolic calling from Jesus.  He tells her not to remain there but to:

“Go, find my disciples and tell them … I am ascending to my Father and your father, to my God and your God”. (Jn20:17).

Mary of Magdala then went immediately to tell the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her. (Jn 20:18).

Such an abundant gift of hope and joy to share with all we meet!

May this too be our lived experience this Easter time.

I have seen the Lord! We have seen the Lord!

As Easter people we rejoice in this – Christ is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

May we go outward from these Easter Days with so much Joy & Hope!

THE MAGDALENE’S BLESSING
For Easter Day

You hardly imagined
standing here,
everything you ever loved
suddenly returned to you,
looking you in the eye
and calling your name.

And now
you do not know
how to abide this hole
in the centre
of your chest,
where a door
slams shut
and swings open
at the same time,
turning on the hinge
of your aching
and hopeful heart.

I tell you,
this is not a banishment
from the garden.

This is an invitation,
a choice,
a threshold,
a gate.

This is your life
calling to you
from a place
you could never
have dreamed,
but now that you
have glimpsed its edge,
you cannot imagine
choosing any other way.

So let the tears come
as anointing,
as consecration,
and then
let them go.

Let this blessing
gather itself around you.

Let it give you
what you will need
for this journey.

You will not remember
the words—
they do not matter.

All you need to remember
is how it sounded
when you stood
in the place of death
and heard the living
call your name.

—Jan Richardson
from Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons

https://www.facebook.com/JanRichardsonAuthor/

+++

© janrichardsonimages.com  Blessing Inspired by John 20:1-18