2025/01/06

177. The Prophesied One Part 2

Seven episodes are in the scene of the resurrection of the Lord in the Gospel of John. In the previous article № 175, we examined the first two episodes, concluding that the words of Mary Magdalene, "I will take him away", were fulfilled in the person of St Francis, who received the Stigmata, more than a thousand years later. The San Damiano Crucifix, which captured Francis, prophesied his appearance (cf. blog № 174). He was called to appear in his own time as the one who had acquired the truths of the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, which were considered difficult to understand. The Holy Spirit inspired the Church of his time with the truths that emerged from his writings and biographies, both during Francis' lifetime and after his death. It continues to do so today. With this understanding, we will continue the examination of the resurrection scenes in John's Gospel. 

Mary Magdalene stood by the cross of Jesus, witnessed his end, received his blood and water, and became a witness to the new covenant and one of the first four members of the Church born then. We have considered her vocation on many occasions. And we were convinced that her declaration to Jesus that she would "take away" his body, which she made without realising it was Jesus when she first encountered the risen Jesus, was a testimony to her vocation. However, I could not see the meaning of the following words that Jesus said to her in this scene when he called out, "Mary," to her, and she turned to him: "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father" (Jn 20:17). It now came to be clarified through the reflection on the San Damiano Crucifix and the vocation of Francis, who received the stigmata. 

Just as Mary Magdalene, turning at the voice of Jesus, involuntarily said "Teacher", and as Jesus himself said, "You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am" (Jn 13:13), Jesus did not live his life as a Saviour, much less as a priest. So, people at the time thought Jesus was a prophet. Many disciples followed Jesus. Among them were women. 

These women provided for Jesus and his party by sharing their possessions (cf. Luke 8:1-3). These women - like Mary Magdalene, who received the "vocation of Jesus" from the risen Jesus; Martha, who confessed before Jesus who he was (cf. Jn 11:17-27); and the Samaritan woman, who drew the theme of the water of life and new worship from her question and answer to Jesus (cf. Jn 4:1-30) - were women who could draw out specific dialogues from him guided by Jesus, spontaneously seek the Word of God, and connect the fruit of these dialogues to their own words and deeds. In this way, male and female disciples were to be able to inherit the "vocation of Jesus" on an equal footing. Meanwhile, while the people of that time thought of Jesus as a prophet, he was still the Son of God with us, the Saviour, and the priest that would be manifested at the end of his short life. These hidden characteristics of Jesus will be clarified by the "vocation of Mary". 

Francis, who had acquired the truth of the Gospel of John and Revelation, revealed the vocations of the Church born near the cross by embodying the "vocation of Jesus" so that the motif of the Gospel of John depicted in the San Damiano Crucifix could be realised. Therefore, he must have realised the meaning of Jesus' words: "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father". That is because Francis, even though called to the "vocation of Jesus", took the diaconate following the recommendation of the Church. He accepted the mission as a male Christian out of love for the Church. The words of Jesus contained the admonition that the bread and wine, which had been specially kept aside to become the body of Christ, must not be touched until it was raised by the hands of the priest as the Eucharist. That was because Mary Magdalene was a woman. 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.