A Magnificent Rise

When Mary Magdalene turned to leave Jesus’s tomb, she saw someone standing there.  It was Jesus, but she did not recognize him. 

“Dear Woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked.  “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener.  “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where he is, and I will go get him.”

“Mary!” Jesus said.

Then, she turned to him and shouted, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

“Do not cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended.  But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my God and your God.’”

So, Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!”  Then she shared his message.

John 20:14-18

Notes for Contemplation as You Use this Devotional:

• This passage from the Gospel Writer called John tells of Jesus’s resurrection. It is often shared during Easter as a reminder that we can rise into new life.
• Resurrection is an act of revival, God’s gift of grace which raises us beyond an old, dead past.
• Mystically and metaphysically, to be resurrected means that we have overcome a death or crucifixion experience. This may include: healing from a long illness; paying off debt; freeing ourselves from an unhealthy relationship; or finding fulfilling, profitable work.
• However, if we cling to old thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, we are stuck in the past and cannot rise to our magnificence.
• Mary Magdalene represents the part of us which does not yet fully recognize our magnificence. Jesus represents the fully realized Christ (our anointed, most spiritually mature self).
• From Hebrew Scripture, Psalm 34:3, Jesus would have known the instruction from which declares: “Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt God’s name together.” So, Jesus magnifies God as he transitions from being the man, Jesus of Nazareth, to becoming the fully anointed Christ Jesus.
• When Jesus says that he is “ascending to my God and your God,” he reminds us that we each can magnify God by sharing our gifts and shining our light in the world.

Contemplation Questions:

As you reflect on your life and circumstances, ask yourself:

• What in my life appears to be dead, though it is actually being resurrected?
  • List, word map, or illustrate whatever applies.

• What old thoughts, feelings, and behaviors do I still cling to?
• Without analysis or judgment, list, word map, or illustrate everything that applies.
• When I consider these, which:
  • block my rise into a magnificent future?
    • List, word map, or illustrate whatever they are.
  • support my rise into a magnificent future?
    • List, word map, or illustrate whatever they are.
    • Next, cross or X out whatever is blocking your resurrection. Circle or highlight everything which supports your resurrection.
    • Then, create a new list, word map, or illustration of only what supports you.

• When I consider only those thoughts, feelings, and behaviors which support my resurrection, what are at least three (3) ways that these can help me share my gifts and shine my light in the world?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as you can imagine.

• What are at least three (3) ways that I can magnify God (express my anointed, most spiritually mature self) in what I say and do?
  • List, word map, or illustrate as much as you can imagine.

The wonder of Easter is realizing that we can overcome our past and rejoice in life anew.  So, as you use this devotional, remind yourself that faith is believing when common sense (like our intellect) and physical sense (like our eyes and ears) tell us otherwise.  Look within yourself and your circumstances, beyond physical evidence, to behold the grace and glory of your magnificent rise.

© 2022 – Rev. Jennifer L. Sacks – All rights reserved.