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On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb
early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone
removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to
the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have
taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put
him.” John 20:1–2
Have you ever misunderstood something, even when your intentions
were good? We all experience moments when we act with love but
still get things wrong. Even our good actions are rarely
perfect.
On that first Easter morning, before the sun rose, Mary Magdalene
offers an example of this. She got some things right—her love and
devotion to Jesus were sincere—but she did not yet understand the
full reality of what she witnessed. Though the other Gospels
mention other women at the tomb, John highlights Mary. Saint
Augustine suggests that this is because she was “undoubtedly the
most fervent in love” with Christ.
When Mary Magdalene saw the stone rolled away, her love compelled
her to act immediately. Saint John Chrysostom says she “ran to the
disciples with all the speed of love.” Her fervor drove her to tell
Simon Peter and John what she had seen, showing us how love urges
us to seek God without delay.
Despite her deep love, Mary misunderstood the meaning of the empty
tomb. Her emotional response—“They have taken the Lord from the
tomb, and we don’t know where they put him”—reveals her struggle to
grasp the mystery unfolding before her. Like many of us, she was
driven by emotion rather than a deeper trust in God.
Jesus was certainly not displeased with her misunderstanding, as
Scripture identifies her in John 20:11–17 as the first to whom He
appeared. When she encountered the risen Christ, she initially
mistook Him for the gardener, indicating that her understanding of
the Resurrection was still unfolding. Despite that, Jesus met her
where she was and guided her toward deeper faith. This reminds us
that our emotions, though good, must be purified by faith, allowing
love to mature into greater trust and understanding.
Reflect today on Mary Magdalene’s experience on Easter morning.
Like her, we are called to seek our Lord with fervor, even when our
understanding is incomplete. And like her, we can trust that Jesus
will meet us where we are, gently leading us into deeper faith. As
we celebrate the Resurrection, pray that your love, with all its
emotions, may be more fully purified by grace, so that you, too,
will encounter Christ with renewed understanding and
joy.
My resurrected Lord, I love You deeply but acknowledge that my
love must be further purified by faith so that I will understand
You and Your will more clearly. As I grow in understanding of the
many divine mysteries You reveal to me, help my love to grow so
that I may more perfectly imitate the pure love You desire of me.
Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection
by Alexander Ivanov. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg,
Russia.
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