John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

• “Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.” The disciples leave Mary alone with her grief. They don’t understand her pain. They seem confused before a woman’s tears. Unable to respond to her, they run home. Mary, weeping, bends over to look into the empty tomb. She sees two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Woman, why are you weeping?” they ask. “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him” she replies. She is so sure that Jesus is dead, she is unable to question the meaning of these two angels. She then turns around and sees Jesus standing there, but she doesn’t know it is Jesus.
• The words Jesus speaks to Mary at the tomb echo the first words spoken by Jesus in John’s gospel: “Whom are you looking for?” What is your response?
• Then Jesus says quietly: “Mary.” He calls her by her name, she who was frantically searching for his dead body. Yet it is Jesus who finds her. His relationship to her and her relationship to him are unique. That is why she recognises him when called by her name. What is the Lord’s name for you? How do you recognise his presence in your life?

• Before we end this retreat, it is good to look back and notice what stays with you, and what you might want to take with you over the coming few weeks and months. Start by picking out some words from that you remember from the retreat, words that particularly stay with you.
• Now, becoming more specific, which parts of Scripture have stayed with you the most? It's worth taking a few moments to relive that prayer, in so far as you can, and notice what goes on in your mind and your heart just now as you recall that experience.
• Which of these women most inspire you? What aspects of their story most struck you?
• Perhaps you can notice some change in yourself, or in your prayer, over the weeks since this retreat began. If you began by asking for a particular gift, has it been given to you? It is possible that God has given you much more than you were able to ask for or even imagine. Take some time to thank God for all that God has done for you over this time.