Overview:

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

A Reflection for Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her. (John 20:11-18)

Find today’s readings here.

Have you ever spotted someone at a party or an event that you haven’t seen in years and it takes them a while to realize that, wait, that’s you?

This happens to me fairly often, especially since I have stayed in the same city that I grew up and went to school in. Every so often, there will be a person that sees me across the room, furrows their brow and then widens their eyes  in recognition. Regardless of how easy it is to bump into people you know at social occasions in New York City, there’s always a bit of “Is that, really? It is!” that precipitates our interaction, like they cannot believe they’re seeing me. Some of these reactions come from people that I spent significant time with, sometimes years with, and yet they fail to recognize me. However, this indignity of not being recognized may not be a curse so much as a blessing.

Growth comes at you in many different ways. Some of it is the physical transformation, to be sure. I don’t much resemble my appearance when I was younger: My hair is different, I no longer wear glasses regularly, my fashion sense has changed greatly. But most of my transformation, I’d like to believe, is due to how much the way that I carry myself and the way that I speak to people has changed. My conduct and level of maturity have improved since my days in school.

This is also true of other people, of course. I find that people who I might not have gotten along with when I was younger are much more pleasant company as I have gotten older. Old grudges can be dismissed with laughter. Rivalries that mattered so much to our younger selves no longer matter. Things we thought were important carry no relevance in our adult lives.

This was what our reading reminded me of. It is kind of surprising that Mary Magdalene doesn’t immediately recognize Jesus, isn’t it? Besides the Apostles, Mary is likely the person that spent the most time with him during his ministry. She was one of his most ardent followers.

But remember that she is in a very particular situation! One of her closest friends has just died, and despite how much Jesus forewarned about his return, it is probably still very difficult to believe it even if you see it with your own eyes. This Jesus is a new sort of being. He is beyond human limitations.

So too do people grow in time. That growth is best demonstrated through a lack of recognition, an inability for others to see who you are because they are expecting to see a past version of you. When someone doesn’t recognize you, take heart. That can often mean that you have grown.

Kevin Christopher Robles is the studio production associate at America. He was previously an O'Hare Fellow and intern.