The moment of recognition
John 20.16
Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to him in Hebrew, `Rabbouni` which means Teacher.
Mary has railed against the man in the garden, as if she were beating her fists against death itself. She wonders if he can tell her where the body of Jesus as been taken.
Yes, of course it is Jesus she is looking for. Her hopes have not been entirely extinguished by her grief, but there is nothing she can do about it, except to cry and finish the one job she came to do- anointing and dressing his body properly for burial.
Then everything changes. A whole new world is born, brought to life by the uttering of a name and a response of recognition in a world bruised and broken by anonymity, random violence and hurtfulness. Jesus speaks her name and joy- the joy of knowing and being known, of recognising and being recognised – is planted in the desert of her despair.
This man is a gardener, but not hired hand sweeping up the leaves in the municipal cemetery. He is the new Adam, the one who will bring order and fruitfulness to God’s creation. She tastes the joy of the resurrection, the future hope of humanity.
Jesus speaks her name – Mary – and her eyes are opened, her ears unblocked. As she hears her name spoken, she at last turns away from the hopeless emptiness of the tomb and towards the one who is her hope, the risen Saviour, a piece of God’s future rooted in the here and now. ‘Rabbouni!’ she says, which means, ‘Teacher”. It is a friendly word of recognition. It is the name she would have used when she was with him on the road.
Now we must be silent again. The Lord addresses us with the same questions and with the same affirmation of love. Why are we weeping? What are the great sadnesses of our lives? Who are we looking for? Where do we place our hope and in whom? Then, right into the centre of where each of us is hurting the most and where we each feel most isolated, most alienated, he calls us by name.
Prayer:
Tender God, you know us by name. Help us to reach out to you and to each other with the same love that you have shown us through Christ.
Rt. Rev. Joseph Mar Barnabas Episcopa
President, Mar Thoma Yuvajana Sakhyam
