20220722 LOVE OF CHRIST OVERWHELMS US
22 July, 2022, Friday, St Mary Magdalene
First reading |
Song of Songs 3:1-4 © |
I found him whom my heart loves
The bride says this:
On my bed, at night, I sought him
whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
So I will rise and go through the City;
in the streets and in the squares
I will seek him whom my heart loves.
I sought but did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me
on their rounds in the City:
‘Have you seen him whom my heart loves?’
Scarcely had I passed them
when I found him whom my heart loves.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 62(63):2-6,8-9 © |
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Tell us, Mary: say
what thou didst see upon the way.
– The tomb the Living did enclose;
I saw Christ’s glory as he rose!
Alleluia!
The following reading is proper to the memorial, and must be used even if you have otherwise chosen to use the ferial readings.
Gospel |
John 20:1-2,11-18 © |
'Mary, go and find the brothers and tell them'
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’
Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.
LOVE OF CHRIST OVERWHELMS US
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [SONG 3:1-4 OR 2 COR 5:14-17; PS 63: 2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9; JN 20: 1-2, 11-18]
What is it that will make us give up our life for the service of the Lord and His people? If it is merely for the remuneration, then we will not go far because the motivation rests on how much we are paid or the benefits we receive. Indeed, those who are motivated by remuneration are certainly hardworking because they want to earn more and more. But they have no loyalty. When another organization comes along and give them a higher salary with more benefits, they will transfer their loyalty and skills to whichever organization that employs them. Others are motivated by fame or power. They like to be recognized and adored by people. They feel great about themselves when they are well known and popular. Others feel great about themselves when they have power so that others will play up to them. So for the sake of fame and power, we can work ourselves to death to win the crown of glory.
Unfortunately, wealth, fame and power do not last. They are transient, and they have their saturation point. Those who are wealthy will realize that they do not need so much wealth because it is a burden looking after it and disposing of it. Those who want fame will recognize that what they need most is privacy and the joy of going about without being trailed by paparazzi. Those who seek power will realize that they are powerless without the help of others. Their power rests on those who work for and with them, and those who support them. So it is ironic that those who hold power are beholden to their supporters and collaborators for without them, they cannot exercise their power. They are basically puppets.
The only reason why we can do well in life and find joy and true freedom is when we are motivated by meaning and purpose. What would be the greatest driving force if not love? When we are in love with a person or passionate about what we are doing, we will give our heart and soul to it. Love is the ultimate meaning of all that we do, whether as parents making a living for the family, priests serving in the parish, volunteers working in church ministry or NGO, or serving the poor. When we are motivated by love, we will go the extra mile. Our giving is not determined by wealth, fame and power. It is motivated by love, and whether the people are really served by the position we hold in life.
This was the motivation of St Paul’s missionary zeal. He was converted by the love and mercy of God for Him. First and foremost, he counted His merciful love at Damascus. “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim 1:12-14) How could our Lord forgive him for all the sins he committed and chose him when he was totally unworthy? It was unthinkable. Even Ananias thought so when he was asked to heal him and embrace him as a brother.
And so St Paul reflected, “the love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.” Our motivation for service and ministry is grounded in God’s love for us in Christ Jesus, in His passion, death and resurrection. Because the Lord Himself as the Son of God emptied Himself of His divinity to be one of us and one with us, we cannot but also empty ourselves of our humanity to be at the service of our Lord. The Lord has given Himself to us and we are all called to do the same. But we must receive this love as a personal love as Paul did when he said, “it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2:20) Unless we receive this love personally, we cannot commit ourselves to Him.
This is precisely what the Feast of St Mary Magdalene celebrates, her intense love for the Lord, as in the case of St Paul. What could have caused Mary Magdalene to be so in love with our Lord? What did our Lord do for her? How did she encounter His love? All these are not explicitly said in the scriptures. But surely, there must have been many moments in which Mary Magdalene felt so loved by our Lord that she just wanted to be at His feet listening to Him. Most of all, she must have had a radical encounter of Jesus’ transforming love and mercy.
Mary Magdalene was often associated with the sinner in St Luke’s gospel. Whether that association is historically valid or not, it is disputed. However, it does not really matter because what is important is to examine the depth of her love for the Lord. If we take the story of the great sinner in Luke’s gospel as referring to Mary Magdalene, then we bear in mind what the Lord said, “Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” (Lk 7:47) What we are clear is that in St John’s gospel, this woman was named Mary, the sister of Martha who, before the death of our Lord anointed His feet in a similar manner. “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” (Jn 12:3)
Mary teaches us the perseverance of love. When we love, we will never give up on our beloved. Despite the odds against her, she endured in her love and clung on to hope. This is true love. Indeed, when a man or a woman love each another, they will go to great lengths to find their beloved, as in the case of the bride in the Book of Songs. “On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. So I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. The watchmen came upon me on their rounds in the City: “Have you seen him whom my heart loves?” Scarcely had I passed them than I found him whom my heart loves.”
When we persevere, we will find the Lord because the Lord will find us instead as He found Mary waiting at the garden. We too must learn to be like Mary, to strengthen our love for the Lord. We need to spend time in the Garden of Gethsemane, sometimes that garden could be the place where our Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene. In our relationship with the Lord, like Mary, we must grow from depth to depth. Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father.” Our relationship with the Lord must grow from one of physical, affective relationship to one that is contemplative and mystical. Like the bride in the Book of Songs or the responsorial psalm, we must thirst for the Lord more and more. “O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory. For your love is better than life, my lips will speak your praise.”
Indeed, it was Mary Magdalene’s love for our Lord that the Lord even made her the apostle to the apostles. The Lord told her, “But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.” Why did the Lord give her the great privilege to be the one who announced the good news of the resurrection to the apostles? This was because of Mary’s fidelity to the Lord and her trust in Him, despite all that happened previously when He was scourged and put to death on the cross. Mary Magdalene never gave up on Jesus. She believed that she could still be with Him. So she stayed close to Him at His death and came to the tomb very early on the first day of the week when it was still dark. Mary was not afraid. But to her dismay, she discovered that His body was taken out of the tomb, so she presumed. Yet, after losing the body of Jesus, Mary continued to trust in the Lord. And the Lord rewarded her fidelity by appearing to her. “Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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