April 21, 2014

Matthew 28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

Do you know what the most popular name for girls has been over the last 100 years in the U.S.? According to the Social Security web site it has been Mary. In fact, according to the site there have been twice as many Marys as there have been Patricias (the second most popular name). If you shouted “Mary!” into a crowd fifty years ago half the women would have turned their heads to see if you were calling them. It seems that Mary was quite a popular name in Jesus’ day also with several women named Mary being mentioned in the gospels. There was Jesus’ mother, Mary, and Mary Magdalene, just to mention two. And then, in the verse above there is “the other Mary.” How would you like to be remembered as “the other Mary?” Nothing really to distinguish this one except that she wasn’t either of the other two. Ever feel like a fifth wheel or the third of two’s company, three’s a crowd fame. Most of us go through life feeling quite ordinary, hoping for our 15 minutes of fame but not really expecting it. We hang around and do our jobs but don’t stand out much, kind of like this Mary, this “other Mary.” But this other Mary got to be on the scene when God changed the world that first Easter. Maybe she was there representing all of us “others”; the “others” that Christ died for; the “others” whose hairs God has numbered (see Matthew 10:30), the “others” that are as much a part of his beloved family as any of the superstars. Yes, Easter is for us, too; Maybe especially for us. Happy Easter. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!