Gospel in Art: Easter Tuesday - Mary Magdalene saw two angels

The Angels hovering over the body of Christ in the Sepulchre by William Blake © V&A, London / Alamy

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 2 April 2024
John 20:11-18

Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' 'They have taken my Lord away' she replied 'and I don't know where they have put him.' As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.' Jesus said, 'Mary!' She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' - which means Master. Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

Reflection on the watercolour on paper

Our Gospel passage today mentions the two angels who greeted Mary upon her arrival at the tomb. Our watercolour shows these two angels watching over Jesus before he rose from the dead. William Blake (1757-1827) painted over 80 watercolours of subjects from the Bible. Where the feet of both angels are situated is where they are sitting when Mary Magdalene arrives: at the top and feet of where Jesus laid, as per our Gospel reading. The imagery of this drawing is taken from a description in the Book of Exodus. When the prophet Moses is alone on Mount Sinai, God tells him to instruct the Israelites to make a 'mercy seat' flanked by cherubim (angels) all made of gold (Exodus 25: 20: And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be'). The continued description of the angels in the Book of Exodus is the source for Blake's design here. Where the angels' heads meet there sparks a burst of light. They have folded hands. The angels themselves, in our drawing composition, look almost like a giant pair of prayerful hands, where just the tips of the wings or our fingers would meet. The composition also looks almost like a keyhole… the resurrection being the key to our Christian lives.

To the question, 'Why are you weeping?' Mary Magdalene can only answer, 'They have taken my Lord away and I don't know where they have put him'. Into that deep grief of Mary steps the risen Lord. Initially, Mary's grief blinds her to his presence; she mistakes him for the gardener. When we are grieving the loss of a loved one, we don't always recognize the Lord's presence to us initially. Our grief can overwhelm us and isolate us. But Jesus is always there, especially in our darkest moments. He comes to us as he came to Mary to bring light to our darkness and to proclaim the triumph of life over death.

Mary became the first and primary preacher of the gospel. This is the Easter gospel that continues to be proclaimed to us through her. The risen Lord is always in a deeply personal relationship with us, even in those times when we feel we have drifted from him or when we don't feel his presence. He doesn't drift from us.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-20-11-18-2024/
Competition: The Laudamus Award 2024 for Sacred Art - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49310