Good Evening Gentle Readers
Why did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene to stop clinging to him in today's
Gospel reading? Was he against hugs? Don't you wish you could feel him hugging
you right now? How could Mary's embrace interfere with Jesus ascending to the
Father?
In Jerusalem, the
Chapel of Mary Magdalene in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has a bronze
sculpture depicting this scripture. It shows Mary full of joy in the discovery
that her dearest friend has risen from the dead. One hand of Jesus is gesturing
for her to stop. His other hand is raised toward heaven, and his gaze is
following this hand upward. It's as if he's saying, "Look toward heaven;
what's earthly doesn't matter nearly as much."
Mary's head is tilted upward. Her gaze wants to go where Jesus is looking,
but her eyes are caught between heaven and earth. One of her hands wants to
touch Jesus; the other is covering her heart as if realizing that this is where
he will dwell after he ascends to the Father.
Have you ever wished you could see and touch Jesus in the flesh? Jesus
wants you to know that it's better to focus on the blessings of heaven than to
wish for an experience that's only brief and temporary. Jesus does hug us --
through every hug that we get from other people -- but the physical connection
is never enough. That's why he told Mary not to "cling" or
"hold" onto him, instead of saying, "Don't hug me."
To fully embrace the eternal, we have to let go of everything that we
cling to on earth. Saints have levitated in prayer because their spirits were
more immersed in God than in their physical bodies. No longer attached to this
world, their relationship with God was stronger than earthly gravity (stronger
than all that is grave, all that pulls us down).
Jesus gives us his Holy Spirit to raise our spirits to the Father. What
are you clinging to that hinders this? Sometimes we hold onto the subconscious
idea that God the Father is imperfect like our human fathers. Sometimes we're
more interested in our ideas, our goals, our desires (which will only satisfy us
for a season) than in what the Father wants for us (which will satisfy us for
all eternity).
Do we fail to make sacrifices for others because we're clinging to our
own earthly comfort? Are we refusing to stretch beyond our comfort zones,
because we want to hold on to what's familiar? Are we hanging on to any old
habits or addictions?
Resurrected living means letting Jesus raise us from the dying,
temporary world of earthly satisfactions into the joys of heaven. We don't need
to touch Jesus to feel touched by him. He's inviting us to let our spirits soar
heavenward while we're still living on earth. We fly to him whenever we
remember that what's earthly doesn't matter nearly as much as what awaits us in
heaven.
Take Care and God Bless
Good Enough
