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Memorial of St. Mary
Magdalene
Marriottsville Retreat
July 22, 2016
SMM: A MODEL OF FAITH
++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø In this gospel passage, Mary Magdalene
emerges as a model of faith
Ø We see w/i these few verses, growth of
her faith
MARY’S 4 STEPS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø 1st,
Mary arrives at the tomb while it is still dark
Ø The darkness is literal; sun’s had not
yet risen
Ø And darkness is also symbolic; it
stands 4 Mary’s darkness & R darkness when we don’t fully understand Jesus
or who Jesus is
Ø She notices that stone’s been rolled
away and is still thinking that Jesus is dead and that someone has stolen his
body
Ø Mary’s first awareness of something
special taking place is when she returns to the tomb and sees two angels there
Ø They ask her, “Why are you weeping?”
Ø This is the first inkling we have that
we are not dealing here simply with Jesus’ death
Ø The “darkness” of Mary continues as
Jesus appears to her, but she does not at first recognize him
Ø
2nd when as the sun rises and darkness begins to clear she
does eventually recognize him
Ø
She initially calls him “Rabbouni” which means “teacher”
Ø 3rd
she listens to Jesus and takes in his message
Ø
Finally, she is ready to go and tell the other disciples, “I have seen
the Lord”
SUMMARY OF THE 4 STEPS
+++++++++++++++++++++
Ø So, notice her growth in faith, her growth
in her relationship with the Lord
Ø Mary moves (1) From darkness to
increasing light, (2) From not recognizing Jesus to speaking of him as a
teacher (3) To talking of him as Lord, and finally, (4) To being moved to
testify about him to others
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø Her message to us how we too keep
growing in our faith
Ø It asks us where are we in this very
same drama today?
Ø (1) Darkness? (2) Knowing Jesus as a wise
teacher? (3) Accepting him as Lord? (4) Ready to speak of what he’s done for us
to others?
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