[After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to Mary of Magdala.] Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what he told her.

"Morning falls like rain into the city life. Everyone keeps talking. They promise you everything, but they don’t mean anything. There’s just too many words, we’re never meant to learn, and we don’t feel so alive. Goodbye, these days are gone. And we can’t keep holding on when all we need is some relief through these hard times. You should be here tonight, but you stay alone and cry. There’s something missing. These days are gone."

Matchbox Twenty's song "These Hard Times," and the video connected with it is a statement that bad things will turn around, that relief is coming. The group does not sing how it is coming, but in the video, it comes in the form of bright balloons that are released for the world to see. 

Mary of Magdala and the other disciples were quite despondent after Jesus' death. They had given themselves to the belief that their friend Jesus was someone special, maybe even the awaited Messiah, but after his death, they doubted it. In terms of Matchbox Twenty's song, they were experiencing "hard times." That all changed with Jesus' Resurrection, of course; suddenly, there was hope in the form of some relief. Jesus was alive, telling Mary and the other disciples not to "hold on to him," that is, not to keep it secret, but to proclaim it to all the world.

The song brings up the question of where we find relief in our hard times. Do we look for it in power—by being better and stronger than anyone else? Do we look for it in pleasure—by covering over the hard times and making ourselves feel good? Do we look for it in money—by getting more of it so that a happy life will be automatic? Many choose to find their relief in those temporal things. But the Christian must look for it in another place, namely with a person, the person of Jesus Christ. Mary of Magdala and the early followers of Jesus proclaimed to a world experiencing hard times that they "had seen the Lord," and it made a profound difference in their lives.

Jesus and his teaching gives the "bright balloons" of true relief in the hard times that we all experience. There is no longer reason to feel overpowered by the difficulties of living; the Lord is risen, and has shown us the way to live. All we have to do now is follow it.     

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we all experience hard times in our lives, whether in the events of the world or our own personal lives. Help us recognize and truly accept your Son into our lives so that we can find relief from the pressures of living. Be with us, we pray.  

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America