John 20: 15-16
Remembering this is Mother’s Day month, I love how Jesus interacted with women. He was such a revolutionary and visionary and so ahead of His time (but then again, I guess that’s to be expected if you’re God!). Just look at the way Jesus interacted with Mary Magdalene when He found her weeping outside His empty tomb:
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?
Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away,
tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”
(which means “Teacher”) (John 20: 15-16).
Of all the people He could have picked, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene, not a senior disciple, a leading Pharisee, or even His own mother. He chose to make His first appearance to a woman whom no one in the world rated as important. In the culture of the day, a woman’s testimony would not have been considered as weighty as a man’s. Or, to put it another way, if the disciples had been making the whole thing up, there is no way they would have said the first appearance of the risen Savior was to Mary Magdalene.
But Jesus chose Mary – the loved one, the forgiven one – alone in the garden, with gentle love. Why? Because Jesus rewrote the rules about equality, justice, and love. He chose someone whom the world considered unqualified for the task because that’s what love does.
Today, let’s be open to Christ surprising us, inspiring us, showing us how to live and love radically and kindly, and above all, to treat women as Jesus did: with respect, gentleness, and favor.
God bless our women and our mothers.
Much love,
Pastor John