(M, C)br...
Illustration
(M, C)
"Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni' (which means Teacher)" (verse 16)
I can think of no greater thrill than must have been Mary's to hear the familiar voice of Jesus uttering her name, "Mary." It is the thrill of recognition.
I have a friend, Chinese by nationality, Catholic priest by vocation. I have listened spellbound as he has told of coming to America as a young man to study, preparatory to becoming a priest, and then years of advanced seminary training. Then came the Communist take-over in China with the subsequent breaking of relations with America and years of uncertainty and anxiety as he wondered about his family back home. He knew that his parents were aging, that his sisters were growing up and finding life difficult at best. Correspondence was next to impossible for many years. He applied for a visa to visit China after being gone twenty-five years. Permission for him to go home kept being delayed until, finally, after about five years of persistent effort his visa was granted and he could go back and visit his family. The trip was not easy, but after many days of travel he finally arrived by train in his home village. He looked around for a familiar face, and wondered who the old man was standing off by himself on the platform. Something drew them together, then the old man smiled, and spoke my friend's name. What a joyful reunion! How simply great to be back together again!
"Mary." Death could separate only briefly.
- Fegan
"Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni' (which means Teacher)" (verse 16)
I can think of no greater thrill than must have been Mary's to hear the familiar voice of Jesus uttering her name, "Mary." It is the thrill of recognition.
I have a friend, Chinese by nationality, Catholic priest by vocation. I have listened spellbound as he has told of coming to America as a young man to study, preparatory to becoming a priest, and then years of advanced seminary training. Then came the Communist take-over in China with the subsequent breaking of relations with America and years of uncertainty and anxiety as he wondered about his family back home. He knew that his parents were aging, that his sisters were growing up and finding life difficult at best. Correspondence was next to impossible for many years. He applied for a visa to visit China after being gone twenty-five years. Permission for him to go home kept being delayed until, finally, after about five years of persistent effort his visa was granted and he could go back and visit his family. The trip was not easy, but after many days of travel he finally arrived by train in his home village. He looked around for a familiar face, and wondered who the old man was standing off by himself on the platform. Something drew them together, then the old man smiled, and spoke my friend's name. What a joyful reunion! How simply great to be back together again!
"Mary." Death could separate only briefly.
- Fegan
