Daily Word: John 20:1-18 – Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles | July 22
Mary Magdalene weeps at the empty tomb, and Jesus calls her by name. A 4-minute reflection on love, loss, and the joy of the Resurrection, on her feast day.
DAILY WORD
spwworship
7/22/20264 min read
Scripture Reference: John 20:1-2, 11-18 (Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene – Year A)
“Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and what he told her.” (John 20:18)
The scene is one of the most tender and dramatic in all of Scripture. It is early morning, still dark. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while the dew is still on the grass. She has come to anoint the body of her Lord, to offer the last gift of love to the one she believed was gone forever.
But the stone has been rolled away. The tomb is empty. She runs to Peter and John, breathless with grief: “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
Peter and John run to the tomb. They see the linen cloths, the burial shroud folded neatly in a place by itself. John believes. Peter marvels. And then they leave — they return to their homes.
But Mary stays.
The Love That Would Not Leave
Mary Magdalene stands outside the tomb, weeping. She does not leave because she cannot leave. Her love will not let her go. Even when the angels appear and ask, “Why are you weeping?” she does not flee. Even when she turns and sees a man she believes to be the gardener, she does not run. She pleads: “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”
She is willing to carry the body of her Lord, even alone. This is love: not knowing the outcome, not having all the answers, but refusing to abandon the one she loves.
Then Jesus speaks one word. Just one word. Her name.
“Mary.”
And everything changes.
She recognizes His voice. It is the same voice that called her from her demons (Luke 8:2). The same voice that forgave her sins. The same voice that spoke with authority and love. It is the voice of the Good Shepherd, who calls His sheep by name (John 10:3).
She responds with one word: “Rabbouni!” — Teacher.
The Gardener of the New Creation
Mary mistakes Jesus for a gardener. There is a deep symbolism here. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve failed, and death entered the world. In the Garden of the Resurrection, Jesus, the New Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), is restoring life. He is the Gardener of the New Creation, planting seeds of eternal life in the soil of human hearts.
Mary wants to cling to Him. But Jesus says: “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
He is not rejecting her. He is reorienting her. She cannot hold Him here; she must carry the message there. Her love must become mission. Her grief must become proclamation.
Mary Magdalene: Apostle to the Apostles
Mary Magdalene is often called the "Apostle to the Apostles" because she is the first to announce the Resurrection to the Twelve. Jesus entrusts her with the most important message in history: “I have seen the Lord.”
She is the first witness of the Resurrection. Not Peter, not John, not any of the men. A woman. A woman who had been possessed by seven demons. A woman who had been healed by Jesus and never stopped loving Him.
This is a profound lesson: God chooses the humble, the broken, the outcast to be His messengers. Mary is not a theologian or a scholar. She is a woman who loved much because she was forgiven much (Luke 7:47). And that love made her a herald of the Gospel.
What This Means for Your Wednesday
Today, on the feast of Mary Magdalene, you are invited to encounter the Risen Lord.
Do you stay weeping at the tomb? Are you stuck in grief, unable to move forward? The tomb is empty. He is not there. He is risen.
Do you listen for His voice? He calls you by name. In the silence of prayer, in the words of Scripture, in the whisper of your heart — He is speaking. Are you listening?
Do you carry the message? Mary did not keep the news to herself. She ran to the disciples and proclaimed: “I have seen the Lord.” Who needs to hear that message from you today?
Mary Magdalene: Model of Love and Mission
Mary Magdalene teaches us that love is the foundation of mission. She stayed at the tomb because she loved. She recognized Jesus because she loved. She ran to proclaim because she loved. Love led her to the empty tomb; love sent her to the fearful disciples.
Her story is your story. You have been called by name. You have been forgiven. You have been sent. The Risen Lord is not in the tomb. He is alive. And He is calling you to be His witness.
A Short Prayer
Lord Jesus, like Mary Magdalene, I come to You seeking. Forgive me for the times I have looked for You in the wrong places. Call me by name, Lord, and let me recognize Your voice. Heal my brokenness and fill me with the joy of Your Resurrection. Send me to be Your witness — not in my own strength, but in the power of Your love. I have seen the Lord. Let me proclaim it with my life. Amen.
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