Daily Readings - Mon Jul 22 2024

First Reading - Song of Solomon 3.1-4a or 2 Corinthians 5.14-17

¹Bride: On my bed, throughout the night, I sought him whom my soul loves. I sought him, and did not find him²I will rise up, and I will circle through the city. Through the side streets and thoroughfares, I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, and did not find him³The watchers who guard the city found me: "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?⁴When I had passed by them a little, I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not release him, until I would bring him into my mother’s house, and into the chamber of her who bore me

2 Corinthians

Chapter 5

¹⁴For the charity of Christ urges us on, in consideration of this: that if one died for all, then all have died¹⁵And Christ died for all, so that even those who live might not now live for themselves, but for him who died for them and who rose again¹⁶And so, from now on, we know no one according to the flesh. And though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him in this way no longer¹⁷So if anyone is a new creature in Christ, what is old has passed away. Behold, all things have been made new

John

Chapter 20

¹Then on the first Sabbath, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb¹¹But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping. Then, while she was weeping, she bowed down and gazed into the tomb¹²And she saw two Angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been placed, one at the head, and one at the feet¹³They say 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 placed him.¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus¹⁵Jesus said to her: "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?" Considering that it was the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have moved him, tell me where you have placed him, and I will take him away.¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary!" And turning, she said to him, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher)¹⁷Jesus said to her: "Do not touch me. For I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them: ‘I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God.’ ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord, and these are the things that he said to me.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the themes of seeking, finding, and the profound encounter with the divine. In the first reading from the Song of Solomon, we hear the voice of the bride, who, with deep longing, searches for her beloved throughout the city. Her persistence and yearning are not in vain, for she eventually finds him and holds him close, unwilling to let him go. This passage, often interpreted as an allegory for the soul’s search for God, reminds us that our spiritual journey is marked by both longing and union. The bride’s determination to seek her beloved, even in the face of uncertainty, mirrors our own search for meaning and connection with the divine. In the Gospel, we encounter Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus, her heart heavy with grief. She seeks Jesus, but like the bride in the first reading, she initially does not find him. The tomb is empty, and she is met with the question, “Why are you weeping?” Mary’s tears flow from a place of deep love and loss, but her sorrow is transformed when Jesus reveals himself to her. The moment she hears her name, “Mary,” spoken by the risen Lord, her grief turns to joy, and she recognizes the one she had been seeking. This encounter underscores the reality that our seeking is not in vain; God reveals himself to those who seek him with persistence and love. These readings remind us that our faith journey is one of seeking and finding, of longing and encounter. Like the bride and Mary Magdalene, we are called to seek God with persistence, even when the path seems uncertain. The moral lesson here is clear: trust in God’s timing and presence. Just as Mary Magdalene found Jesus in the most unexpected way, we, too, will encounter God in our own journeys. Let us approach life with the same determination and love, knowing that our seeking will lead us to the One who seeks us even more.