When we ask where
we can find Him, only the hard, mocking echo of the empty tomb replies.
And yet this self-reproach is itself a seeking to which He will respond.
To mourn His absence is to desire and to invite His presence; and to
invite His presence is to secure it.[29]

The Evangelist Mark saw more in the Lord's appearance to Mary than a
response to her seeking love. He reminds his readers that this was the
woman out of whom the Lord had cast seven devils, meaning apparently to
suggest that those who have most need of encouragement from Him are
surest to get it. He had not appeared to Peter and John, though these
men were to build up His Church and be responsible for His cause. To the
man whom He loved, who had stood by Him at His trial and in His death,
who had received His mother and was now to be in His place to her, He
made no sign, but allowed him to examine the empty tomb and retire. But
to this woman He discloses Himself at once. The love which sprang from a
sense of what she owed Him kept her at the tomb and threw her in His
way. Her sense of dependence was the magnetic point on earth which
attracted and disclosed His presence. Observe the situation. Earth lay
uncertain; some manifestation is needed to guide men at this critical
time; blank disappointment or pointless waiting broods everywhere. At
what point shall the presence of Christ break through and quicken
expectation and faith? Shall He go to the high priest's palace or to
Pilate's praetorium and triumph over their dismay? Shall He go and lay
busy plans with this and that group of followers? On the contrary, He
appears to a poor woman who can do nothing to celebrate His triumph and
might only discredit it, if she proclaimed herself His friend and
herald. But thus continuous is the character of Jesus through death and
resurrection. The meekness, the true perception of the actual sorrows
and wants of men, the sense for spiritual need, the utter disregard of
worldly powers and glory, characterise Him now as before. The sense of
need is what always effectually appeals to Him. The soul that truly
recognises the value and longs for the fellowship and possession of
Christ's purity, devotion to God, superiority to worldly aims and
interests, always wins His regard. When a man prays for these things not
with his lips but with his life's effort and his heart's true craving,
his prayer is answered. To seek Christ is to feel as Mary felt, to see
with practical con