John 20:1-18
We have finished reading The Gospel of Mary and we turn our attention to stories in the Bible of Mary Magdala and other Marys. Today’s reading is probably the most familiar story of Mary, coming to the tomb and seeing Jesus. What are some things we notice about this story?
All the stories of resurrection in our Bibles tell us that women were the first to discover Jesus resurrection. In that culture it would have been women’s work to care for the bodies of those who died. Jesus was buried on Friday night just as sabbath was beginning, so observant Jews would have waited until Sunday morning to care for his body. The women arrived early, wanting to deal quickly with this job. It’s not unusual that it was women and not men who went first to the tomb and discovered it was empty. It is unusual that the story wasn’t changed in several writings to feature the men, because in those days women weren’t reliable witnesses. They couldn’t testify in court. No one would have asked them for the resurrection story. The fact that the women remain at the heart of this story tells us we can believe it happened pretty much the way it’s written. There are slight variations, but no one would have added the women as a feature if they hadn’t been there.
This story reminds us that unlike most of first century culture, Jesus included women in his ministry. There are twelve male disciples listed in official lists, but we read in several places that women traveled with him. Some may have been spouses of the men. Others were women of means who funded meals and travel expenses. Women were included. As were poor people, those who were ill or disabled, and eventually people of other nationalities. Jesus’ ministry was inclusive in ways quite different from the culture of the day. God’s good news was for everyone.
In this version of the resurrection story Mary comes alone to the tomb and when it’s empty she assumes the body has been stolen. She runs to tell the men because they are the ones who might be able to do something about it. Peter and another disciple, whom people usually assume is John, run to see for themselves. And then they go home, confused. We think of resurrection as the only logical result of Jesus’ death from the perspective of thousands of years, but they didn’t. No one expected him to rise from the dead. It took them a while to understand what had happened and even longer to figure out what it meant. In fact, 100 years later when the Gospel of Mary was written, there were still various explanations of what resurrection means.
Mary stays by the tomb, weeping that someone has added insult to the terrible loss of Jesus by stealing his body so they can’t properly bury him. She had brought spices and supplies to clean his wounds as a last act of love to honor him. Now she couldn’t do it. There would be no grave to visit when she missed him most. When someone speaks to her, she turns and asks if they know where the body has been taken. She assumes it’s the gardener. That tells us something about Jesus’ resurrection – the body he assumed after death looked different from the body that died. If it had been the broken body which was buried, it would have been obvious to everyone that it was Jesus. As it is, we have several stories of appearances Jesus makes in which people don’t recognize him at first. It takes a while. Just as it takes them a while to believe that resurrection is possible. That Jesus still lives, albeit in a new form. Resurrection is something that grows on you.
In the first century there are many stories of Jesus appearing in the days after his resurrection and then appearing to people in visions in the years following. In fact, people have had visions of Jesus in every time since then. Because we’ve heard that Jesus rose from the dead for all our lives, we take it as a piece of history that we don’t have to question. But I wonder if it isn’t better to grow into it slowly. What does it mean that Jesus is alive? How would it be if that grew on us, rather than just being something everyone assumed. Would it become more significant rather than just background noise? Early believers told stories of those who saw Jesus in person when he came to them in the days after resurrection. Paul saw a vision of Jesus on the Damascus road that changed his life. The Gospel of Mary tells us of Mary’s vision in which Jesus shows her how she can overcome the Powers of the world and set her spirit free. Some early Christians believed that resurrection meant they too would be resurrected to heaven. Early creeds included a belief in the resurrection of the body. Mary’s vision (and others) suggested that the resurrected Jesus was their teacher, helping them to know how to live connected to their own spirits so they could be freed from the fears of this world. Today we too can see visions or hear messages from Jesus, telling us of God’s love, helping us love one another, showing us how to live by his words.
It’s interesting to learn about first century history. We have the advantage of living in a time when scholarship has recovered information long lost about what those days were like and how first believers understood their faith. It’s also important to remember that Jesus lives still and is with us. That we can continue to be inspired with new insight. That we can grow in understanding what it means to follow his ways. That God is moving among us, helping us change the world until it comes closer to being the kingdom of heaven. “Christ is risen!” was an important affirmation in the beginning and it’s still true today, an ever present reality in our own living.