Hold on loosely.

What if it IS True? Blog

Discovering, wrestling with, and trying like crazy to live Gospel virtue.

04/22/14

John 20:11-18

Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
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.”
Jesus 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.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.

Can we really cling too tightly to Jesus? This Gospel passage certainly seems to suggest so. Mary Magdalene was no doubt overwhelmed with elation of encountering the risen Lord. However, her worship of him was cut short by Christ's own admonishment to not hold onto him, but to go tell his brothers what had happened. This should be a clue to us of what Christ expects us to do as well. Is our faith expressed through worship or is it through action?

It's a common tendency to get this out of proportion. Mary wasn't the first. It's easy to want to bask in the warmth of a Eucharistic chapel or be so drawn to the mystery of the mass that we see these encounters as both the evidence and the experience of our faith. However, Jesus seems to be indicating a disorder to an exclusive focus on him. Not to suggest that our faith shouldn't be Christ focused, it must start there, but it can't remain “me and Jesus”, or exclusively vertical.

I like looking at the cross as a beautiful model of what our faith life should look like. The cross is obviously both vertical and horizontal. If we were to trace a line from the base to the cross beam we would travel two thirds of the way moving exclusively vertically. Once we arrive at the cross beam there remain three equal portions. One continues vertically and the two others stretch in equal distances to the left and to the right on the horizontal plane. So what are we to take from this illustration?

Here's how I see a balanced approach to our faith. In my cross illustration are four distinct segments of the cross. There is a long foundational portion that would equal the horizontal beam. This foundational division represents support. Support can be your prayer life, your scripture study and additional inspirational resourcing which could be anything from the books and blogs you read to the music you listen to. These are the things you do to prepare for the remaining three cross portions. I see these three segments representing service, sacrifice and sharing. These are three equal portions suggesting a balance among the three. But interestingly, only one of these continue vertically. This says to me that Christ expects us to pay more attention to his “brothers” than to him. It also pulls this Gospel passage into greater focus.

It was just a few weeks ago when we read about another Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anointing Christ's feet with expensive perfume. Jesus didn't dismiss her. Quite the contrary he said that she wouldn't always have him. So why the change of attitude after the resurrection? I believe it has to do with where we are on the cross. This pre-crucifixion episode with the perfume fell along the support structure. The risen and glorified Christ is obviously beyond the horizontal. The crucifixion has taken place and now it's time to shift the focus. So where are we, clinging inappropriately or embracing the balance of the cross?

Good luck and God bless,

Leo Brown