A Moment with Mary
- Kay Moorby
- Apr 20
- 3 min read
Part One of the Encounters Series.
First, and most importantly, HAPPY EASTER!
I hope your day is full of joy and celebration of our risen Lord (and just a little bit of chocolate)!
I recently wrote a set of Bible Studies for the Salvation Army, centred around those who encountered Jesus between his resurrection and ascension. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to share some of my reflections with you, and I hope you find them useful. I’ll also attach a link to the Bible Study if you’d like to dig a little deeper.
In my personal opinion, Mary Magdalene gets a rough deal.
Thanks to a Biblical misinterpretation by a 6th-century Pope, Mary Magdalene has carried the reputation of a sex worker for centuries. Pope Gregory I decided that Mary was the unnamed ‘sinful woman’ found in Luke 7:36-50, and since then, she has remained a ‘fallen woman’ in the eyes of many. It wasn’t until 1969 that the Roman Catholic church officially corrected this error. Despite this correction, the reputation has stayed with Mary.
There are people my age who still have a nickname from Primary School, so Mary has no chance!
I just don’t know why the church would want to diminish the reputation of an intelligent, independent woman breaking societal norms and living a full life as a follower of Jesus…it’s a mystery!
Despite the years of distortion and speculation (and a lot of Dan Brown books) there is one irrefutable fact that we do know about Mary.
She was the first to witness the risen Jesus.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus.
15 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
(John 20:11-18)
Mary heard Jesus say her name.
In that moment, she knew exactly who he was.
Her face filled with recognition, and she cried, “Rabboni!”
This deeply respectful term identified Jesus as her teacher. She had heard Jesus speak of his death and resurrection on many occasions, and now here she was, faced with the reality of his words.
Jesus was alive!
But that wasn’t the end of the story…
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
(John 20:17-18)
“Do not hold on to me.”
What an unusual thing to say!
There are many different interpretations of Jesus’ words to Mary, but they didn’t seem to trouble her.
“Mary is not upset by this. She doesn’t feel it as a rebuff. She has business in hand. Once again she is the apostle to the apostles. ‘I’ve seen the master, and this is what he said!’
Nothing like fresh, first-hand evidence.
And it still counts today. If someone in the first century had wanted to invent a story about people seeing Jesus, they wouldn’t have dreamed of giving the star part to a woman.
Let alone Mary Magdalene.”
(Tom Wright)
And so, our first encounter in this series reminds us that no matter who we are, we can still respond to Jesus when he calls our name.
This year, let our Easter Sunday moment be to share our personal encounter of Jesus with others.
May we declare to all who will listen, “I have seen the Lord.”
Kay Moorby
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