If it were not for Mary Magdalene, we never would have heard about the Resurrection. The men would still be in the Upper Room, trying to figure how to get out of town.
Do you sometimes wonder if things have changed?
I don’t think they have.
Men are careful. Men are circumspect. Men, after all, have their careers to consider.
Women just do it.
That could be a reason Jesus did not name women as Apostles, or at least why the women who were there did not bother with the title. The women were not interested in advancement or having their names remembered. They were simply doing.
What did the men want? Power? Authority? They preached the message, it is true, but they also jockeyed with each other for position. And who could forget the one who sold out for cash?
So, have things changed? As the church universal begins to move through the holy days this season, few will argue with the statement that the men have made a mess of things.
Of course, the Big Events go forward. The pope goes to Mexico. The pope goes to Cuba. The symbolism is striking, even as the palace guard drags the nearly 85-year-old professor around the world. On the one hand, it seems insane. On the other, it is important, it really is.
But it is also very, very important for Christians — a third of the world — to keep an eye on the empty tomb. Christ is risen, that tomb proclaims. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. That is what really makes a difference.
Without the concept — if not the fact — of resurrection burned into every human heart and mind, the names Trayvon Martin and, lest we choose sides, George Zimmerman soon will be forgotten and tossed upon the trash heap of history. Their names, their story and their stories, are emblematic of so much of human interaction.
What happened in Florida happens every single day in so many ways in so many lives. We never really know who started things. We only know both sides are changed forever. Continue reading
Sources
- Phyllis Sagano in National Catholic Reporter
- Image: Revival Cry