Feast of
Saint Mary Magdalene
(II
Corinthians 5: 14-17; John 20:1-2.11-18)
A man
writes of his former aversion to jigsaw puzzles. He thought of them as vain pursuits. It seemed to him that too much time was being
wasted on the amorphous background. In
contrast relatively little time was spent piecing together the central
images. Then watching his daughter one
day working on a puzzle, he had an inspiration.
The jigsaw puzzle, he thought, is like God’s creation of human
beings. Everyone has their
importance. Just as without the
background the central figures would lose perspective, so it is with God’s children. Everyone is a piece of the puzzle that adds
to the panorama. For the writer it was a
new way of seeing. It is like Mary’s
inspiration in today’s gospel and Paul’s revelation in the first reading.
Paul writes
of how he sees no one according to the flesh anymore but according to the
Spirit. He means that he regards no one
as a rival or an enemy any longer.
Gifted with the Holy Spirit, Paul can see in others a true image of God
to be respected, even loved. Mary
Magdalene comes to a similar realization as she discerns Jesus in one who looks
like the gardener. Graced with the
Spirit, she sees that Jesus has risen from the dead.
Grace enables us to see in a new way. It allows us to recognize a sister or brother in the homeless and even in the arrogant. It bids us to help the stranger and to be patient with critics. Grace is more than heightened consciousness. It actually moves us interiorly to love without worry or regret. It changes our lives as it did for both Paul and the Magdalene.
