The Friday within the Octave of the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Posted on April 10, 2026 by under
Scripture: St. John 20:11-18 (NKJV)
20:11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
Devotion
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher).”
Mary Magdalene is weeping near the grave of Jesus. In Luke 8, we learn that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. Her life must have been miserable before that. By casting those demons out, Jesus gave her her life back. Jesus indeed came that we “may have life, and have it to the full.” He gave this to Mary, and suffice it to say, she was fully devoted to Him. Now, He has been crucified. Her grief must have been overwhelming. All she had left was His body, to which she wanted to pay one last act of devotion. And now she does not even have that.
Speaking to angels, she sees only her grief. Speaking even to Jesus, it is the same, until He calls her name. In knowing that she was recognized, she was able to recognize Him. This is a big part of the joy we have at Easter: not just what we know, but that Jesus knows us! He is risen, and lives, and hears our prayers, and forgives our sins, and loves us, and gives us eternal life! God grant that Mary’s Rabboni (supreme teacher) would ever be our Rabboni as well, that in the life of the world to come all our sadness will also be turned to a joy we will never lose.
Collect: Almighty God, Who, through Thine Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: We humbly beseech Thee, that, as Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
