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photo19 mozaicLIFE AND TIMES.

Mary Magdalene, a woman possessed by seven demons was restored to her right mind, her bondage a thing of the past. Eyes that had once been holes swallowing the light, now shone like pools reflecting the sun. Jesus from Galilee, who had promised the poor in spirit they would surely inherit the kingdom of haven, was now in chains. His hunger and thirst for righteousness had left Him not full, but empty and broken. He had become a curse, His body hanging naked on a Roman cross.

When it was over, Mary had watched Nicodimus and Joseph of Arimathea unfasten His body from the cross. Gently they had wrapped Him in myrrh and aloes. Finally, as the stone rolled across the tomb, sealing it shut, she had turned away. After the Sabbath was over on the next day, Mary took more spices. Before the sun came up on Sunday, she approached the tomb - to her surprise, the mouth of tomb was already open. Strips of linen were lying on the floor and the burial cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head was folded up by itself. She stood outside the tomb weeping. Two creatures in white sat on the stony shelf where the body had been laid. "Woman, why are you crying" they asked.  Then she turned and saw a man studying her. "Woman", he said, " why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? Mary!"   By now the sun had risen. With it fled the darkness that had pursued her ever since she had heard the news of His arrest. Jesus, the one who had raised her from a living death, had Himself risen from the dead...

The risen Jesus had appeares, not to rulers and kings, not even first of all to His male disciples, but to a woman whose love had held her at the cross and led her to the grave. God had revealed Himself to the lowly, and it would only be the humble whose hearing was sharp enough to perceive the message of His love ( Ann Spangler).