Clinging
John 20:11-23
Luke 8:2
Jesus' words to Mary, "Do not cling to me," were not a rebuke; rather, they were a comfort that He would be around for a little while longer. Mary's response to Jesus offers us an opportunity to consider whether we really love Jesus. Are His death and resurrection just historical facts to us? Or, like Mary, do we love Him enough to cling to Him and then fulfill the tasks He has given us?
Isn't it beautiful that the very first person to whom Jesus chooses to appear is not Pilate, not the chief priest, nor Peter or one of the other men, but to a weeping woman with a shady past? And isn't it exquisite that His first words are not a proclamation of power but a simple, pastoral, and playful question: 'Why are you crying?'
Mary Magdalene has been referred to as the first apostle to the apostles.
Imagine yourself in that room. How do you feel as Jesus appears? He breaks through locked doors to be with us. He commissions us as His apostles as if we'd never let Him down. He breathes on us and says, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'
Closing prayer:
Holy Spirit, breathing deeply now, I receive You joyfully. I relinquish my sense of inadequacy and receive again Your commission to go out through these locked doors, to proclaim that You live, to make disciples, and even to forgive their sins in Your name.
Amen.
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