Resurrection

Belonging to the already mentioned monastery of Decani in Kosovo, in this fresco we find the iconographic representation of one of the episodes concerning the resurrection of Jesus narrated in the Gospels. In fact, just as in the Gospel the episodes are different in terms of details and narrated situations, so the icons depict different aspects.

The fresco depicts the encounter of two women with the Risen One (it could easily be the one narrated in the Gospel of Matthew): the women are Mary of Magdala (who is always the first to see the risen Lord in the other Gospels too) and "the other Mary", who is not the mother of Jesus (who does not need to go to the tomb because she knows that her son is no longer there). In this image there are no details except the figures and their gestures.
Mary of Magdala is recognizable by the color of her clothes, red-orange and green. Jesus is in the white clothes of the resurrection, his posture is the same that we find in the depiction of the descent into hell: with one hand he points upwards, to the Father who has yet to reach, and with the other he seems to want to grab Mary, even without touch her, as well as in the other icon she grabs Adam to pull him out of hell. Mary herself is in the position of Adam, on her knees as if in the act of not lowering herself, but rather rising up. Everything speaks of an upward movement: it is the movement of the resurrection, which Jesus carries out not only for himself, but to "raise" everyone with him from death, and from life "as the dead", towards a new way of living , towards a fullness that does not fear death, but knows that there is something beyond. Even the rocks in the background look like arrows pointing upwards, as if to say the participation of all creation in the same "tension", in the same direction.

Mary had been freed by the Lord from seven demons, and from meeting him she had converted and she had left the dissolute life for which she had become sadly famous.
Mary knew deeply within herself the power of the love of Jesus, of God, who "pulled her out" from the abyss in which her soul had sunk.
Letting herself be loved, freed, she was healed by her divine teaching, by the Word of the "rabbi" that she welcomed into her heart so much that she became his disciple... so much so that she followed him to the cross. Mary of Magdala's love for "her" master brought her up there, and then, even two days later, as soon as she could, she ran to the tomb, to be able to take care of her remains at least once again … A nostalgia, a love "crazed" by pain guides her, a human love that does what it can - it has not yet sensed that it must rise again, but seeks it - and that the Lord feels, and cannot fail to listen, not to console.
Perhaps this is precisely why Mary Magdalene and the other women are the first to see the risen Jesus. The great desire of their heart calls him, irresistibly pushes him to manifest himself to them, to speak to them, to give them the immense joy and consolation of seeing him alive and invincibly alive forever, and to make them the first heralds of the resurrection, also for the apostles themselves. And their positions, on their knees or in any case bent towards Jesus, their hands raised and stretched out towards him, summarize in an image their heart's desire, the attitude of love and sincere adoration, of a profound attraction of their souls towards of him to their God and Lord.

An image that becomes an indication of the attitude of the heart that can bring us closer to Jesus, that we can almost say "forces" his tender love, as a Father, as a Friend, as a Brother to get close to us, to manifest himself to us , in our lives, in our hearts and sometimes even in our senses; because he cannot ignore the sincere cry of a broken heart that does not exclude him from his life, but seeks him out, and turns to him with trust, with love. And then, seeing us truly willing and eager to meet him, he will finally be able to do what he himself desires most: let us participate in his full life, in the gifts of his Spirit, in his resurrected life.

Chiara Dal Corso
NP May 2023