Genesis 16.10-13 The angel of the Lord also said to (Hagar), ‘I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.’ And the angel of the Lord said to her,
‘Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.’
So she named the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi’; for she said, ‘Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?’
John 20.1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 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.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ 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.
Genesis 16.10-13 The angel of the Lord also said to (Hagar), ‘I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.’ And the angel of the Lord said to her,
‘Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.’
So she named the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi’; for she said, ‘Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?’
John 20.1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 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.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ 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.
Reflection “Have I really seen God and remained alive?” asks the astonished Hagar when Living God finds and encourages her in the presence of her deepest despair. The slave woman Hagar belongs to Abram’s wife Sarai and when Sarai is unable to get pregnant she gives Hagar to her husband to bear a child for her. But when the deed is accomplished and Hagar is pregnant Sarai is furious and abuses Hagar, who runs away to the wilderness, utterly bereft. (Genesis 16.1–7)
It is there, in the depths of her despair that the messenger of God finds and encourages Hagar. Realizing she has encountered Living God while still alive, Hagar’s burden becomes bearable knowing that she and her unborn child have not been abandoned or forgotten. In the depths of despair, God finds her there.
Consider another such moment as experienced by Mary Magdalene. Luke’s gospel text presents Mary as Jesus’ devoted friend and disciple. She follows him to Jerusalem, is there for his triumphal entry and humiliating departure. Surely she is sickened by the smell of his sweat and taste of his blood while standing at the foot of the cross. All four gospels aver that Mary is the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb. When Mary Magdalene announces to Peter and the other disciple that Jesus’ body is not in his tomb, all three of them go to the tomb. Once Peter and the other disciple confirm that Jesus’ body is gone, they “return to their homes.” Mary alone stays present, waiting and weeping outside the empty tomb.
Although it seems that everything is lost to Mary she does not return home to the way things used to be. She does not turn away from her experience of the present moment. Mary consents to the depth and breadth of her despair. Broken hearted and empty handed Mary waits and weeps.
If we choose to wait with Mary in the chill of the empty tomb we will learn something about navigating the inevitable moments of despair in our own lives. Stay with them. Stand in them. Do not turn away and attempt to return to the way things used to be. Consent to wait and weep and wonder as does Mary Magdalene until a glimmer of hope arises in our emptiness.
In the gospel according to John we read, “(Mary) turned around and saw Jesus standing but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom do you look?’ Supposing him to be the gardener she said to him, ‘Sir, if you 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!’” Following Jesus’ instruction Mary “went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.’” In the depth of her despair Mary Magdalene is surprised by Divine Presence with her.” Again, In the depths of despair, God finds us there.
Rapt in the darkness of impending doom Hagar and Mary Magdalene’s despair is transformed by the surprising Presence of God with them. Like light from a distant star traveling through billions of light years to pierce our dark hearts, the power of Divine Presence does not dim over time. The lives of both Hagar and Mary Magdalene are for all time illumined.
Today as we stare into the empty tombs in our lives; pondering the atrocities that assault our minds and inflame our emotions, wondering when the season of seeing and treating each other as enemies will cease, waiting for a glimmer of hope to penetrate the pandemic darkness of our hearts, we can be assured of just one thing. The God of Surprises arises in the midst of our fear, suffering, heartbreak and despair when we consent to feel the depth and breadth of the present moment, turn our faces to God and wait until Divine Presence surprises us with a mysterious kiss that transforms our tears into cries of joy, “I have seen God and remained alive.”
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