Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:06 Welcome to that makes total sense. A podcast dedicated to exploring God's generosity and justice. I'm Alexis, Boetti a Christian aiming to ask good questions and encouraging you to do the same. Every, every one of us is wired by God to live out generosity and justice. But the how sometimes eludes us that makes total sense is a way for us to get together, posture ourselves as learners and challenge one another to practice generosity and justice in a tangible way. Every day. Don't cling to me. I have to be honest. I just really can hardly handle that phrase coming from Jesus. This is from John chapter 20 and the scene as we read it is really vivid in our imaginations, especially around Easter time with all of the imagery we have surrounding this holiday, the women, including Mary Magdalene, which is who this phrase was spoken to waited. I imagine impatiently until the moment when they could finally get to the tomb to start embalming Jesus, They had just witnessed his brutal crucifixion, and he'd been there in a tomb just outside the city, dead for days already, but there was a festival happening in this city. And at the same time, there were also more executions.
Speaker 0 00:01:37 And I just can't possibly imagine that angst, They must have felt as they I'm guessing proceeded with their Passover rituals in the midst of their grief, which sometimes we do, right? No doubt. They couldn't concentrate on like the routine of the holiday. This is something they'd been celebrating, probably many of them since they were kids. And instead of focusing on that in my imagination, they were just counting down the hours and the minutes probably until they could tend to the most pressing things thing in their lives and those moments, which was preparing their teacher, their friend, their Lord for a proper burial, It must have made them sick to their stomachs all weekend. To know that Jesus' body was bruised and bloodied and they couldn't get to 'em. And then the Sabbath ended. They bought spices and everything. They needed to do the job at hand and they headed to the grave. John chapter 20
Speaker 0 00:02:47 Early in the morning, on the first day of the week, while it was still dark. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran it once to Simon, Peter and the other disciple. The one Jesus loved gasping for breath. They took the master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him <laugh> then in the verses that follow there's this great commentary. I'm sure you've probably read it. If you've read this story on this race, to the tomb between Peter and John, the one who Jesus loves and John records for all of history, by the way that he won <laugh>. But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there, dressed in white one at the head, the other at the foot of where Jesus body had been laid. They said to her woman, why do you weep? They took my master. She said, and I don't know where they've put him. After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't recognize him. Jesus spoke to her woman. Why do you weep? Who are you looking for?
Speaker 0 00:04:00 She thinking that he was the gardener said, sir, if you took him, tell me where you put him so I can care for him. Jesus said, Mary Turning to face him. She said in Hebrew RA bony meaning teacher. Now in these moments, I imagine in, in, in the, in between versus I imagine her running, jumping to him, hugging him with all of her mic crying, sobbing, trying to believe and understand if what she was feeling and seeing, and hearing and experiencing was real. And then he says, it don't cling to me. I'm sorry, what? Don't cling to me. Don't hold onto me. Some translations say, don't touch me. And I say, you know what? I'm out. <laugh> I can't handle it. Jesus has to know, like he has to know in those moments what Mary was feeling and what she was wanting to experience and that embrace. And he says, don't cl linked to me. Don't cling to me for, I have not yet ascended to the father, go to my brothers and tell them I ascend to my father and your father, my God and your God, Mary Magdalene went telling news to the disciples. I saw the master and she told them everything he said to her.
Speaker 0 00:05:25 Okay. So we're gonna rewind a minute to the moment to the, to that part. Cuz I hate it. When he says to Mary don't claim to me, I say, I hate it. Which probably sounds pretty strong, but I'm just gonna throw out something that's been really, um, it's given me of freedom, I would say in the last couple years, and that is
Speaker 0 00:05:47 Permission to wrestle with scripture <laugh> so I'd say it's okay to wrestle with scripture. By the way, one of my seminary professors linked our wrestling with scripture to Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis. And if you remember that story, Jacob kept insisting in that night that the divine being whomever he was wrestling with, he kept insisting that that, that God would bless him. And he did <laugh>. But if you remember the rest of that story, Jacob also walked with a limp for the rest of his life. And from my experience, this is maybe just me, but when we're honestly wrestling with scripture, when I'm honestly wrestling with scripture, I'd say it's not unusual for me to leave with more than I've bargained for. <laugh> leave with more than I've bargained for in the way of blessings. I mean, Jacob, a new name in that situation, a destiny, but there may be some holy scars there too.
Speaker 0 00:06:47 In this Easter season, this passage hits me a little bit differently, differently than it has before. And that's one of the beauties of scripture, right? Is that, is that every time we read it, God and his spirit can bring something new to our eyes. And Jesus tells Mary not to cling to him, not to hold on to him because he hasn't yet gone to the father. But we know though we know from scripture and from our personal relationships with Jesus, that he absolutely wants us to cling to him. Right? It's the only thing that makes sense without him. We, we can't survive. One of my favorite passages is from, I think it's from John six where Jesus tells the crowds that they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. If they're gonna have a part of him. And everyone thinks that that's yucky and gross because it is, and it freaks them out and they leave.
Speaker 0 00:07:35 Right. And Jesus turns to his disciples and he turns to Peter and he says to him like, are you gonna go to my, uh, you know, paraphrase from my recollection, he says, are you gonna leave two? And Peter says, where else am I gonna go? You have the words of life. And, and there's so much of my wrestling with my faith and with God and with scripture, I say that aloud. I say, where else am I going to go? Lord, you have the words of life. So we know that Jesus wants us to cling to him. So why did he tell Mary in that moment? Not to, I have no idea <laugh> but here's what came to me this weekend. Mary came to the grave to care for a body. This was a very physical act, right? That involved spices and ointments being rubbed over the dead.
Speaker 0 00:08:29 But instead of getting forward to move, instead of getting to move forward with her physical plans, cuz if you're remembering that passage digest thread he's she says, tell me where you've laid him and I'm I need to care for him. Right? She has plans these physical plans that she needs to do, but Jesus tells her to look to the spiritual just for, just for a sec, just look to the spiritual previously in, in the gospel accounts, Jesus had told his disciples and in fact, just four chapters were going backwards in, in John in chapter 16, he told the disciples it's actually better for them if he were to leave because then the holy spirit can come and guide them in truth. And this no doubt must have been confusing, right. But he's, he's preparing them for this time. And I think he's not saying so.
Speaker 0 00:09:15 I think so. I think he is saying to Mary and to us look at this spiritual, but here's what he's not saying. I believe, I believe he's not saying that embodiment or his incarnation or his physical body aren't important because we know that they are our faith. In fact, Paul reminds us in first Corinthians 15 rests on G he's, his physical resurrection. And that he actually is the first fruits of all of our promised resurrections. So I don't think he's saying that his physical body isn't important in that same passage. Paul tells us that when it comes to resurrection, what is so he, he, he refers to it and kind of makes it analogy with a seed going into the ground. What is sewn is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable. So Christ died in that physical body and Mary was prepared to embalm and bury that physical body.
Speaker 0 00:10:11 But what she found herself hugging that day was imperishable. <laugh> she clung to it though, like it was fleeting, but Jesus gives her confidence that his spirit isn't going anywhere. I mean, maybe we might say he tells Mary politely to chill for a sec, take, take a step back and then take a message from him to the rest of the disciples. And that message is focusing on what's imperishable and, and spiritual and what his imperishable resurrected body is about to do. So having finished his work of redemption, he's gonna join his father whom he says, we can all call now our father and he's going to ascend to his God whom he says, we can call our God, Mary don't cling to me. He says, the work you came to perform doesn't have any more value <laugh> because of the work I'm in the process of completing, uh, that's just me right?
Speaker 0 00:11:13 Saying that. I imagine maybe if he had to explain it to her, he's saying, look, you came to do all work on a physical body that was perishable, but I'm, I'm continuing in this imperishable way. It feels counterintuitive. And I don't want Jesus to say to Mary don't cling to me. I want him in those moments. I want him to tell her that his embrace has no end. Unlike what that preacher or says. And ecclesia is about hugging, you know, a time to embrace and time to release. I don't, I don't want that. Right. I, I want him to rush to her, to grab her and to never reopen his arms right. To, to hug her physically. But that's not what we read in that passage. Mary don't cling to me is what we read. Maybe there's a subtext. Maybe we can read. Don't cling to your grief. Mary Mary, don't cling to your idea of death. Mary don't cling to your plan, to care for a lifeless body, to all of us. Don't cling to what you thought you knew going into this weekend. Instead take this message to your brothers. We've got the same God. Now the same father.
Speaker 0 00:12:33 And Jesus says, well, while he's going back to be with him, he tells us he expects us not to cling to our own lives, but to be willing to lose them. So we have space for the new lives he has planned for us. Ultimately, maybe what Jesus is saying to Mary and to all of us is don't be afraid of what happened or what might happen if you let go. But instead trust that he's holding on to us no matter what, Don't cling to me, Mary I'm ascending to our father, to our God. So I can cling to you forever. Don't cling to me. Don't try to care for me. And what you thought was death. Let me care for you. Instead in new life, The links for all the resources mentioned in today's episode can be found in the show, notes, music, and podcast production by Seth. Boetti be sure to give us a review on iTunes and subscribe at your favorite podcast listening app, you can also visit us at that. Makes total sense.com.
