STEPHANIE FORMENTI | CONTRIBUTOR

April showers might bring May flowers, but the month of April also ushers in unique busyness. Between Easter celebrations, graduations, end-of-the-year school trips, filing taxes, open houses, baby showers, final exams and projects, bridal showers, sports tournaments, and summer planning, April fills up fast.

It’s probably no accident then that April is also National Stress Awareness Month, set aside to bring attention to the negative effects of stress. National Stress Awareness Month began in 1992 before smartphones, 24-hour news cycles, and social media were part of the daily vernacular. Now, with very little to buffer us from constant demands and worldwide problems, it is easy to understand why we experience stress on a regular basis. Stress and anxiety are close friends; stress is a state of worry or mental tension caused by challenging or difficult situations. It is a natural human response which can be helpful in addressing those challenges or threats. In fact, God designed our bodies to respond to stressful situations, for our own safety and wellbeing. The problem is, instead of stress being an occasional thing, it’s almost a daily thing for many Americans.

There are many resources to help us manage stress, and we ought to utilize those that are helpful. But what if stress also presents a unique opportunity to for us to meet Jesus? What if our experience of stress is an invitation to a deeper relationship with him?

A Story of Stress in John 20

In John 20, we see such an invitation. It’s a familiar story about a friend of Jesus, Mary Magdalene. The story picks up after the death and burial of Jesus and Mary is the epitome of stress. She is overwhelmed with grief and loss, feeling disoriented at the death of Jesus three days before. It is likely that she is afraid, confused, and exhausted. She is experiencing deep stress.

The passage tells us that early one morning, Mary goes to the tomb where Jesus was buried and upon arrival, she sees that the stone was taken away from the tomb. It sends her into hysteria. She was stressed before, but now she is beside herself because she fears that someone has come and stolen the body of her friend and Savior. We can hear the panic in her voice as she tells the other disciples, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (John 20:2). What happens next is interesting: Mary’s stress spreads because anxiety is always contagious. Peter and John feel her panic, pick it up, and run as fast as they can to the tomb only to find it as she said. The heightened stress in the story is palpable.

While Peter and John return home, the passage tells us that Mary stands weeping outside the tomb. In fact, Mary seems to be so lost in her grief that when she sees two angels sitting in the tomb, she doesn’t appear shocked. She simply tells them why she is sad, “They have taken away my Lord.” They took him away. They killed him. Now they have stolen his body.

What happens next is beautiful. Jesus appears on the scene, but only the reader knows that it’s him. We are told that Mary still doesn’t recognize him. And Jesus does two things to meet Mary in her stress.

Meeting with Jesus in Our Stress

First, Jesus asks her two important questions, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (20:15) These profound questions invite Mary to both notice her anxiety and identify how she’s trying to deal with it. They get to the heart of her anxiety and stress. Jesus doesn’t tell her to stop weeping or to get her act together. But, he does ask her to pause long enough to identify the stirrings in her heart. Then he wants to know what it is she is looking for. In our stress, Jesus asks us the same questions. What’s heavy on our hearts? What are we after? What are we looking for? Often, our stress is connected to deeper longings in our hearts and Jesus is inviting us, just as he did Mary, to pause and consider those deeper longings. Are you stressed because you aren’t in control of your circumstances? Are you stressed because you are afraid to say no and disappoint others? Are you stressed because money has a strong hold on your heart? Are you striving to achieve your own plan and agenda? Stress can be an opportunity to pause and let Jesus ask us those uncomfortable and yet important questions. We may realize that our stress is a result of seeking other loves apart from Jesus. Let stress be a moment in which we consider and then reorient our loves.

Second, Jesus says her name: “Mary” (20:16). It is only then that Mary recognizes Jesus for who he is. It is a turning point for her. We can imagine the stress and worry and fear fading away when she realizes that Jesus is alive and that the resurrected Jesus knows her and calls her by name. In that moment, Mary is changed. She is no longer anxious, stressed, and fearful. Instead, she is sent out as the first missionary to spread the good news of the resurrection. Being known by Jesus changed everything for her. When life ramps up, challenges arise, and stressors increase, may we remember that we are known by Jesus himself. He calls us by name. This is the only truth that can move us from managing stress to surrendering stress to the One who holds all things together, is never caught off guard, and always knows what’s best.

This side of Eden, stress is inevitable. So, take deep breaths, get outside, and find time to move your body. Those are all good suggestions. But do those things with Jesus. Talk to him about it. Invite him into your stress. Surrender it to him as you consider what you are looking for and as you exhale into the truth that you are deeply loved and deeply known.

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