Daily Readings - Mon Jul 22 2024
First Reading - Song of Solomon 3.1-4a or 2 Corinthians 5.14-17
Song of Solomon
1On my bed by night I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, but found him not.2I will rise now and go about the city, in the streets and in the squares; I will seek him whom my soul loves. I sought him, but found him not.3The watchmen found me as they went about in the city. "Have you seen him whom my soul loves?"4Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves. I held him, and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her who conceived me.
2 Corinthians
14For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;15and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
John
1Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.12And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.13They 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."14Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.15Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" 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."16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).17Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for 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.'"18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"--and that he had said these things to her.
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.