Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (20: 11-18) in which Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus near the empty tomb but does not, at first, recognise him.Fr Paul says, again, this is a scene of hesitation and partial recognition. One wonders if this hesitation is stressed in order to emphasise how far beyond all human possibility was the Resurrection of Jesus, and also how firm the disciples were in their conviction that Jesus was dead? This unwillingness to believe makes the disciples subsequent faith in the Resurrection all the more convincing. In this scene there is also the strong hint that the act of faith in the Resurrection, involves also love; involves the heart as well as the mind.  Whether this is Mary of Magdala who wept at Jesus’ feet or whether this is only a Christian interpretation, remains unclear. But the intimacy of the meeting shows that she is surely a figure of love. She was one of the few who not only followed Jesus as a supporter, but she also stuck it out to until the very end, present at the crucifixion and now she is present at the resurrection.In closing, Fr Paul notes today’s Gospel challenge is to think of all the things around us that people said were totally and utterly impossible and yet now are possible…