Easter Tuesday

Some of us seem to dwell in our hurts and experiences of disappointments. Some seem to be engrossed or stuck in such a state or are caught up with the past, preferring to wallow in our self-pity, our "poor me" syndrome, our feelings of helplessness and lick our wounds instead of seeking help, learning to come out of it and move on. Such people sometimes appear to have a dark cloud above their heads. Sometimes, such people could be suffering from low self-esteem or low self-worth, but we also come across people who prefer to be in such a state so that they could attract sympathy and comfort from others, to feed their ego or pride in a twisted way, so to speak.

In today's Gospel, we come across Mary of Magdala who seems to be caught up with the past. Jesus had died and she seemed to be still thinking of what had happened to Jesus and how all her hopes, dreams and expectations had come to a crashing halt. Mary was still weeping, afraid to enter the tomb and not even realising that the duo in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet, were actually angels in white. Even when Mary turned round and saw Jesus standing there, she still did not recognise him. It was only when Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master.

Today, Jesus is calling us by name, inviting us to stop dwelling in the past and let Him be our "Master." What has happened has happened, nothing can change that, but we can choose to learn from the experience and become stronger, and let God transform us into something better, or we can choose to remain as we are. Sometimes circumstances may seem to be not in our favour, or the odds may be stacked against us, but let us be reminded that God has helped His people in the past, and He will help us too, if we are willing to be patient and trust in His providence and love. Let us not weep but rejoice, for God will help us in His time, for His greater glory.