Easter Monday: ‘Don’t hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended’


But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
[John 20.11-18]

Easter Monday: ‘Don’t hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended’

There is a physicality to the resurrection which we often ignore, and rather assume the resurrection happened on some spiritual level, nothing could be farther from the truth, there is something very real, very physical about the resurrection. If, as David Jenkins the former Bishop of Durham said ‘the resurrection is more than just a conjuring trick with bones’, then at least in someway it must have involved the physical as well as the spiritual.

The Incarnation, that is Christ becoming human, is a very physical act, as we remember in the Christmas story. And it needs to be, as St Gregory Nazianzen one of the Church Fathers said ‘that which has not been assumed cannot be redeemed’, Christ has to become as we are in order that we might become as he is, and this continues through to the resurrection. The resurrection is a physical event. Looking ahead to Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus invites St Thomas to place his hands in the wounds he received at his crucifixion, and on another occasion, Jesus takes some fish and eats in front of his disciples, precisely to prove that he has physically risen and isn’t some form of apparition.

If the resurrection is a physical act for Jesus, then so too is it for us, and we also shall be physically resurrected on the Last Day. This is a truth long believed by the Church, though one that doesn’t get much coverage these days. 


In considering these words I have chosen the painting ‘Resurrection at Cookham’ by Stanley Spencer. Cookham is a village on the river Thames just west of Reading. The image shows the residents of the village being (physically!) resurrected, and journeying down the Thames to Heaven. I love the peacefulness of this image, the resurrection takes place not in the context of time, but of eternity where there is no measure of time, and so there is no need to hurry! And at its heart, in the doorway of the Church sits Jesus, tenderly holding a child in his arms,

Finally, Jesus goes on to say to Mary Magdalene ‘do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended’. Jesus’s time is limited, 40 days after Easter day he will ascend into heaven from whence he sends the Holy Spirit. So, Mary is told not to hold on to him, because his time is short and there is much to do, but also because he needs to ascend in order that the Holy Spirit might come. It is tempting for her to hold on to Jesus, to keep him for herself, but only in letting go will all the earth receive blessing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflection for the Feast of St Luke

Image
We all, I am sure, have our favourite Gospel. For some it will be Matthew, where Jesus is the man of the fulfilment of history and Biblical prophecy, one in whom the pieces of the of the Old Testament jigsaw come to fulfilment. Others will favour St Mark, with his action packed, breathless life of Jesus, where Jesus only stops to pray, eat, or sleep. Then there is the mystical Gospel of St John which links eternity with human history, a gospel in which earth reached up to touch heaven, and heaven reaches down to earth.   My favourite Gospel is that of St Luke. I like Luke because he is a compassionate storyteller. The Jesus we meet in Luke’s Gospel wis one who links human life into the story of God. From Luke we get our best loved parables, those of the Lost Son (the Prodigal) and the Good Samaritan, stories of a God who comes alongside us when we are in need. A God who hitches up the skirts of his robe and rushes out to meet us with joy, even when we feel at our worst. ...
Read more

Liturgy for the Longest Night/ Blue Christmas service

  Longest Night/   Blue Christmas Service   Hymn:  O come, O come, Emmanuel O come, O come, Emmanuel! Redeem thy captive Israel That into exile drear is gone, Far from the face of God's dear Son. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.   O come, thou Wisdom from on high, Who madest all in earth and sky, Creating man from dust and clay, To us reveal salvations’s way. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.   Greeting The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. All:      And also with you.   The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow, a light has shone. For the yoke that was weighing upon them, and the burden upon their shoulders, you have broken in pieces, O God, our Redeemer.   Today we sit on the Eve of the longest nigh...
Read more

Reflection for the Feast of St Laurence, Deacon and Martyr (Monday 10 August 2020)

Image
Today the Church celebrates the life of St Laurence the Deacon and Martyr. St Laurence is one of my favourite saints because of they way in which he stood up to power, and the way in which in doing so he showed what rally matters in the economy of God. The story of St Laurence is that at the time of his martyrdom the Church was suffering persecution. Laurence had been summoned by the Prefect of Rome to present to him the treasures of the Church, of which he had custody. St Laurence dutifully arrived, bearing not beautiful vestments, expensive silverware and books, but accompanied by the poor and need. “These” he said “a re the treasures of the Church!” , he is also reported to have said "The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor."  Of course those in power do not appreciate being made to look foolish, and he sentenced Laurence to death. Laurence was imprisoned prior to his martyrdom, and spent the time preaching and baptising those he was impris...
Read more