HOMILY OF MONDAY 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY OF MONDAY 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: LOVE THAT ENDURES SORROWS
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? ”
Today is the feast of Mary Magdalene, the woman entrusted by Jesus himself to take the news of his Resurrection to the Apostles. Mary Magdalene was from an affluent town but was possessed by seven demons, making her an outcast to her friends and family. Jesus had healed and forgiven her, restoring her to her family. She even regained the ability to work and means to contribute to Jesus’ ministry as they travelled. Mary’s backstory shows us that no situation is past saving. It is never too late to be forgiven for the wrong that separates us from God and others.
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Evidently, we see that the disciples weren’t expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead, even though they understood the idea of resurrection. The Gospel passage (John 20:1-2,11-18) describes Mary’s weeping several times. The word used means to sob uncontrollably. She had gone to the tomb when, ‘it was still dark.’ It was still dark for Mary in both body and soul. Mary going in the dark to the graveside guarded by soldiers shows that love fears nothing. The agony of Mary’s mourning only deepened when she was unable to pay honour to Jesus’ body. She didn’t recognize the men in the tomb as angels. They called her by a term of respect (as “woman” was in that day) and asked a question of compassion. Their words were meant to point out that there was really no reason to cry, but Mary was too distracted by her grief. The question from the angels is still applicable to us: Whom do you seek in your sorrow?
Our love for Jesus is not demonstrated by the degree of our theological correctness but by love that never falters. Unfortunately, our love hardly endures. We love only when we can get something in return. We love only when life is rosy. We love only when there are no challenges. When life puts our source of joy to the grave, we cease to love.
Like Mary, in our sorrows, we weep as we look for Jesus. And when we lose consciousness of His promise and focus mainly on our sorrowful condition, we may not see Him even when He is there, often present in unexpected ways. Only when He calls us by name do we recognise His voice and our hearts are filled with joy and love.
Mary did not recognize Jesus either until He called her by her personal name, “Mary.” Then her tears of mourning were turned to rejoicing. Personal name signifies a personal relationship. God knows us by our names. No matter what you are going through, God hasn’t forgotten your name.
Jesus continues to love those He has redeemed even when we are in agony and unbelief. His love never falters.
We desire to have a relationship with Jesus and ask for the grace to know Him better so that we can take Him to others out of the fullness of my heart. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen.
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