Speaking into our world of overwhelm and anxiety, Rev Katherine Chow reveals the interaction Jesus had with Mary Magdalene – reminding us that he isn’t put off by your emotional vulnerability, but wants you to share your concerns with him
Every day we make decisions and face choices. Decision fatigue is apparently a thing. We make over 35,000 decisions by the time we go to bed each day and the volume of daily decision-making is leading to exhaustion, overwhelm, anxiety and stress.
Take a look at the world right now – with its ongoing wars and conflicts, extreme weather patterns, societal division and polarisation, economic uncertainty and the advancement of AI – and suddenly feelings of fear about the future are quite understandable. Is it possible to live in our modern world and not be consumed and controlled by fear?
Learning from the faith of Mary
To answer the above, I want to consider a woman who experienced fear but chose to exercise faith that redefined her future, Mary Magdalene. Mary was the first person who encountered the risen Jesus at the empty tomb on the first Easter Day (John 20:1-18). Mary was afraid and crying, then Jesus showed up while she was alone – which I imagine must have been intentional. He waited until Peter and John had left the vicinity. Jesus chose her to be the first witness of the resurrection in a culture where a woman’s testimony would have been inadmissible in a court of law. If you were trying to make up a fictional story, you wouldn’t write it this way. The only plausible reason for why it’s written like this is because that is how it really happened. And pay careful attention to the type of woman Jesus selected as his first ambassador of hope.
Is it possible to live in our modern world and not be consumed and controlled by fear?
Mary Magdalene was healed by Jesus personally, by having seven demons cast out of her (Luke 8:1-3). She was a woman with a past, someone with a history of quite serious mental, emotional, physical and spiritual turmoil, marginalised and vulnerable. Mary was from Magdala, a place known for great luxury, corruption and immorality, and had probably been a sex worker. But Mary encountered Jesus, chose to trust him and became part of his entourage during his public ministry. She may not have realised what she was signing up for; she probably didn’t fully understand who Jesus really was when she first met him, but she had experienced enough of Jesus to take a step of faith. It was her faith, even if imperfect and incomplete, which led her to arrive early at the empty tomb.
Jesus draws near with compassion
When he encountered Mary after his resurrection, Jesus wasn’t afraid of her emotions; she was likely ugly crying. After watching Jesus publicly crucified in the most horrific brutality, her hopes had been shattered. There would have been many questions, doubts and disappointments going through her mind. But it was into this emotional vulnerability that Jesus showed up and drew near with compassion. Jesus wanted Mary to articulate the reason for her tears and the source of her fears to him directly. He didn’t think Mary too needy, too emotional or too much because he knew her past, he met her in the present and he changed her future. Jesus simply asked her: “Who is it you are looking for?” (v13).
It was when Jesus called Mary by name that she suddenly recognised him (v16). Jesus prioritised the personal. Nothing could separate her from God’s love, which drives out fear. Her identity was secure because of the cross and her purpose and future was protected because of the power of the resurrection. Jesus invited her not to cling onto the familiarity of the past but to expect God to give her something new. Mary was the first carrier of this good news of scandalous grace. A carrier of hope in times of fear. The rest is history.
Who am I and why am I here? These are two of the biggest questions we will ask ourselves across the course of our lives. To look for answers outside of God will inevitably lead to fear and confusion. We often feel fearful about the future because we forget who is really in control. In the midst of questions, doubts and fears, Jesus longs to show up in our mental overwhelm and our empty tomb scenarios of personal devastation, disappointment and despair. Just like Mary, he knows your past, present and future and he knows your name. Can we really live a life freed from fear? Look at Mary Magdalene. She chose faith in Jesus over fear at her circumstances and this decision changed her future. So: “Who is it you are looking for?”
Katherine Chow is associate vicar at Holy Trinity Brompton in London. htb.org @htbchurch
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