Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 16, 9-15
When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week,
he appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had driven seven demons.
She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping.
When they heard that he was alive
and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form
to two of them walking along on their way to the country.
They returned and told the others;
but they did not believe them either.
But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them
and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart
because they had not believed those
who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”
She is a missionary
1. Mary Magdalene. She represents the person that society targets and even religion itself labels. She’s the woman who was considered to have had a difficult and non-religious life. Labeling and prejudice can do a lot of harm. There are people in our lives who’ve been condemned for their past and we don’t give them a chance or credibility. But God is not like that. From being singled out as a sinner, she becomes an evangelizer; from being an outcast, she becomes an active member of the community. This teaches you and me that God chooses who He wants and how He wants. It comforts me to see this, because when I think about all the bad things I’ve done in my life and the mistakes I’ve made, I myself destroy opportunities. Today give yourself the opportunity to help and to encourage others because everyone can remember your past and remind you of it, but God looks at your present attitudes and invites you to live a resilient future, to rise again.
2. They didn’t believe her. Sometimes people don’t believe the message and sometimes they do not believe the person who delivers the message. Learn to get rid of your prejudices and listen. Never give up on a person. This is one of the problems we have as believers, we first look at the person’s resume before we listen to the message he or she is bringing to us.
3. Go! Jesus is direct and pragmatic while we go round in circles, seeking to build structures and programs. God invites you to live life as a witness of life itself. Ask God for strength to go out and announce the good news to others and never let go of what you believe in, because that’s what encourages you to make decisions and take steps in life with conviction. We are witnesses who have seen and heard, so we must be missionaries that proclaim his love. Go out so that others may know the love of God.
Never forget that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
