"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" The first words of the Risen Jesus, this question for Mary Magdalene plays a significant role in John's Gospel. It is a counterpart to Jesus' first words in this Gospel, the question: "What are you looking for?" It is thus a clarifying commentary on it. These two questions form the framework within which John presents his picture of Jesus.

There are many desires in the human heart, but many of them are transient and ephemeral. If, in prayer, we wish to take Jesus' first question seriously, we will, of course, have to go deeply into our hearts to discover what we are truly looking for, beyond the immediate wants and desires of everyday life; we will be drawn to look at the eternal desires that guide our lives and motivate our relationship with God. As we read the Gospel, we hear Jesus proclaiming himself as light and life, way and truth, shepherd and door to life, and finally as true vine. All these affirmations draw us from the first question "What are you looking for?" to the resurrection question: "Whom are you looking for?" John teaches us that the deepest desire of our heart must be for Jesus himself.