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Weekly Devotional

July 23, 2012

God’s Peace be with you all.

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.  ² 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."  ³ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.  ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  ⁵ He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,  ⁷ and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  ⁸ Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;  ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.  ¹⁰ Then the disciples returned to their homes.  ¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb;  ¹² 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.  ¹³ 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."  ¹⁴ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.  ¹⁵ 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."  ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher).  ¹⁷ 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.'"  ¹⁸ 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.

            Yesterday was the lesser known festival of St. Mary Magdalene.  Not much is known about her outside of what the Gospels tell us.  Both Luke and Mark tell us that Jesus cleansed her of 7 demons, and both John and Mark state that she was the first witness to the resurrection.  In the Gospels, she is one of Jesus’ closest disciples, and probably his number 1 female disciple, although she is not considered part of the 12. 

            Mary is considered a saint by the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox traditions.  She is also recognized as “myrrhbearer” by the Eastern Orthodox Church.  Many icons of her will have her holding an ointment or spice jar for this reason.  Many people associate her with the town of Magdela due to how the Gospels present her name.  However, Luke calls her Magdalene (Luke 8:2), which when translated can mean tower, or fortress (Hebrew is Migdal).  Given her status among the followers of Jesus, and the first one to return to the tomb, perhaps that is a better fit.  She indeed was a shining tower among the other disciples and can still be looked at today as a faithful servant of our Lord.

In our prayers this week:  Doris, Bobby, Ann, Jim A., Wayne C., Mike C., and Pat.

Note:  I spoke with Doris last night and she seemed in good spirits.  She had several tests that were to happen today before her doctors put together and action plan.

God’s Peace,