Variety: John 20:14–16

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ 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).  

John 20:14–16

Have you ever completely missed what was right in front of you?

Mary Magdalene had. She was standing in a garden, weeping, face-to-face with the risen Jesus – and she thought he was the gardener.

There is something deeply relatable about this scene, and about the rest of the disciples during the Easter events. Their confusion, their slowness to grasp what was happening, their grief clouding their perception. And yet, in spite of all of it, Jesus still shows up. Jesus still works through them.

Mary didn’t turn up looking for a risen Saviour. She was seeking a body, and carrying the tools needed to tend to it. Her expectations were completely wrong. And yet, wonderfully, Jesus met her there.

Her knowledge didn’t determine his presence and lack of knowledge didn’t deter it.

This is worth sitting with. Pausing.

Jesus was already in the garden. Already close. Already speaking to Mary before she had any idea it was him. Her confusion, her grief, her mistaken assumptions did not alter the reality of his risen presence. He really was there. He had come to meet her in her grief and to demonstrate that everything had changed.

It’s easy to assume that our faith and understanding are preconditions to encounter God. Mary’s story shows something different: that Jesus meets us in the middle of our muddle. He was with her before she recognised him. He is with us before we recognise him.

He simply speaks her name. ‘Mary.’ One word. And everything shifts.

If you’re heading into your week with more questions than answers, more confusion than clarity, then you’re in good company. The Bible is full of women and men who lack clarity – and find God.

He has promised to be with us – at the desk, at the kitchen sink, in the difficult conversation, on the commute, in the classroom. Not just when we feel it or recognise it, but all the time. Emmanuel, God with us.

So this week, you don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to keep going, and trust that he’s already there and keep an eye out for him.

London Institute for Contemporary Christianity