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| Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ |
Holding on to Jesus
Tuesday of the Octave of Easter
Jesus said to her, “Woman,
why are you weeping? Whom are you
looking for?” She thought it was the
gardener and said to him,”Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid
him, and I will take him. Jesu said to
her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means
Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop
holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” John 20:15-17
Mary Magdalene had been outside Jesus’ tomb weeping because
she didn’t know what had happened to His sared body. Jesus appears to her suddenly in her grief
and she is overwhelmed, crying out “Rabbouni!” Jesus tells her to stop holding
on to Him. Why would Jesus say this?
What did He mean?
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| Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalen |
As we can imagine, this was a very emotional moment for
Mary. She had been there watching the
entire Crucifixion. She knew Jesus well
and loved Him dearly. She watched Him
die and now, all of a sudden, Jesus was alive and in her presence. Her emotions must have been overwhelming.
Jesus was not being critical of Mary when He told her not to
hold on to Him. She was actually giving
her beautiful advice and direction in her spiritual journey and in her relationship
with Him.
He was telling her that His
relationship
was not going to change, and deepen.
He told her not to hold on to Him because He
had “not yet ascended to the Father.” At
that moment, Mary’s relationship with Jesus was primarily on a human
level. She had spent much time with Him,
been in His physical presence, and loved Him with her human heart. But Jesus wanted more.
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| Icon of Mary Magdalene and the Risen Christ |
He wanted her, and all of us,
to now love Him
in a divine way.
He was soon to ascend
to the Father,
and from His heavenly throne
He could descend to begin a new
relationship
with Mary, and with all of us,
that was far more than one on a
human level.
From His throne in Heaven
He could now enter Mary’s soul. He could
enter into a new and much deeper communion with her and with all of us. He could live in us and we in Him. He could become one with us.
By letting go of the more human and emotional aspects of her
relationship with Jesus, Mary could soon cling to Him in a way that she couldn’t
do through her human interaction with Him.
This is the divine marriage, the divine communion to which we are all
called.
Reflect, today upon your own clinging to Jesus. He is now fully resurrected and ascended and
we can experience the full fruits of the Resurrection as a result. We, with Mary, can now hold on to Him in our
souls because He is primarily the one holding on to us.
Lord, may I cling to You
as You cling to me.
May my heart, mind
and soul be Yours.
Come live in me o
that I may live in You.
I give my life
to You, dear Lord,
help me to offer You all that I am.
Jesus, I trust in You.
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| Christ is Risen |
Excerpt taken from Lent and Easter Catholic Daily Reflections by John Paul Thomas
