"Don't Hold on to Me"

John 20:1-18

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."


Mary is beyond distress. Not only has her beloved Jesus been crucified, but now his body has been stolen from the tomb. She is terrorized. But this is only the beginning of a roller coaster ride of epic proportions, as the next verses indicate.

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" 

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.'"

What a moment of shock and awe it must have been for Mary when Jesus calls her by name after his resurrection.  She utters "Teacher!" but must have been a mixture of terrified, thrilled and panicked shock.
And so immediately, he senses her wanting to cling to him. To hold him close since she thought he was gone forever. And he tells her no.  "Do not hold onto me because I have not yet ascended to the Father." This state of affairs, this moment with Jesus is temporary and fleeting. Don't hold too tightly to this moment because it will not last forever.

This is the moment where Resurrection theology can be most clearly seen at work. Jesus is risen indeed, but he demands that his loved ones not hold onto the bodily form they see before them. It isn't about Jesus the man anymore, it's about God's love overcoming even the sting of death. It's about what people will do now that they have looked that powerful love right in the eye. It's about how to live with Jesus the Christ as a part of your own being. Not as a man you invite to dinner, but as a savior who lives and reigns in your daily life.

This is the moment that Jesus shows us that resurrection is not a body being risen from a tomb. Resurrection is releasing what we held onto before. Resurrection is looking at the same scene in a whole new way. Resurrection is knowing that the tomb will likely enclose us again at some point, but God's love alive in our hearts has the power to roll away the stone that traps us in the tomb.  Resurrection is a way of life, not a moment in time. 

What do we hold onto because it feels safer than looking at things a whole new way?  Why do we resist resurrection and favor clinging to the past instead? Email me or comment below.

PS: Don't forget to attend our Good Friday service and cantata this Friday evening at 7 pm. Beautiful communion and choral rendition of the last week of Jesus.  You don't want to miss it!   Also remember our Easter Brunch potluck and Easter Egg Hunt for the children right after the 9:30 worship service on Sunday!