April 14: Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Posted by Campus Ministry on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 at 6:00 AM PDT

Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Unfortunately, Mary Magdalene did not have the luxury of 2,000+ years of Easter Sundays to assure her that Christ is risen indeed! In this strange Easter Season, I find myself comforted (perhaps in a slightly “misery loves company” sort of way) by the range of Mary Magdalene’s emotions as described in today’s gospel reading. Heartbreaking grief, confusion, a huge amount of surprise (first angels and then the Risen Christ?), and finally, what one could imagine was overwhelming joy. Interestingly, what opened Mary’s eyes to Jesus and spurred her to joy was hearing Jesus say her name, “Mary!” Upon hearing it, Mary’s grief and confusion gave way to clarity and elation. The One who had died was, indeed, alive again, and calling her name!

Our emotions might be similar to Mary’s… the grief, the confusion, the desire to point a finger at someone else in order to make sense of it all. But here Jesus stands, right before each of us, calling our name and snapping us back to the reality of our task as Christians: To spread the good news of the gospel, that Christ is risen today. Mary did not even have time “to hold on to” Jesus because she had to go to her companions and tell them the incredible news that she had seen the Risen One!

In The Acts of the Apostles, Peter is also exhorting the crowds to go spread the good news. First, he says, repent and be baptized so your sins will be forgiven and you will receive the Holy Spirit. The life of apostleship is not easy but God’s promise is abundant. The season of Lent called us deeper into rhythms of life closely aligned with God’s will and we must continue that good work in this season of Easter. The reality is that if we are to be good stewards of this good news, we must continue to orient ourselves toward God in living our own lives with integrity, justice, and love, just as Jesus taught us.

As we continue to orient ourselves toward God, we see that “the earth is filled with the goodness of the Lord,” as the Psalmist pointed out. Especially in this Easter season, we need to cultivate an awareness of God’s goodness all around us. We are not to go looking for the empty tomb, we instead look for the Risen Christ. Especially in this time of social isolation, uncertainty, and anxiety, we must truly listen for the Good Shepherd who is calling our name. We are called, each of us, just as Mary was called so may we respond with the same joy and action that she did. We know that death does not have the final word with our God of love! Our suffering world desperately needs this message of hope; let us be the ones to share that Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!

Erin Beary Andersen, Associate Director of Campus Ministry