"And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
John 20:14-17
This is an incredible story, and the end of a story that started somewhat earlier when Mary Magdalene came very early and found an empty tomb, where she expected to find Christ's body. She was upset by this because instead of assuming resurrection, she assumed that his body had been taken. (And to be fair, that is probably what we would assume as well, if we encountered the empty tomb or grave of a loved one.) She was upset already by all the events leading to Christ's death and it isn't hard to imagine that grave robbing seemed to be the icing on that really, really bad cake. She had suffered immense loss.
I have no idea why she didn't recognize Jesus instantly. It could be that, like with the men on the road to Emmaus, his identity was hidden from her. It could also be that her mind just wasn't there at all yet, and she couldn't see the living where she expected the dead until he said her name. In any case, what an incredible moment, when she did recognize him... when her sorrow was turned completely around into overwhelming joy, and she knew that all she had suffered had been washed away by the living truth of his life standing before her.
At this point, I think we should examine some other translations, because in this case I think it makes a large difference. The Joseph Smith Translation changes "touch me not" to "hold me not" and many other translations of the original Greek render the phrase here "cease from holding me," or "do not cling to me." I think the word choice here changes everything. It takes it from a sterile scene where the resurrected Lord could not be touched, to one where there was the overwhelmingly joyful embrace that you would expect. But then, after comforting Mary, Jesus had to go, because he still had to ascend to his Father, so he sent her ahead with a message for when he would come back later.
Today, let's remember Mary's overwhelmingly joyful experience of having her sorrow washed away, and realizing that even death could not hold her Lord. Let's realize as well that he can do the same for all of us, for because he overcame both sin and death, he can overcome all of our pains and our sorrows, as well as our mortality. He gives us immortality in our resurrected bodies as a free gift. Because Christ lives, we can live also. And he also overcomes our sins, in essence giving us video-game like infinite chances to keep trying until we get it right. All we have to do is keep playing and getting better (repenting and improving). Let's embrace that hope.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
John 20:14-17
This is an incredible story, and the end of a story that started somewhat earlier when Mary Magdalene came very early and found an empty tomb, where she expected to find Christ's body. She was upset by this because instead of assuming resurrection, she assumed that his body had been taken. (And to be fair, that is probably what we would assume as well, if we encountered the empty tomb or grave of a loved one.) She was upset already by all the events leading to Christ's death and it isn't hard to imagine that grave robbing seemed to be the icing on that really, really bad cake. She had suffered immense loss.
I have no idea why she didn't recognize Jesus instantly. It could be that, like with the men on the road to Emmaus, his identity was hidden from her. It could also be that her mind just wasn't there at all yet, and she couldn't see the living where she expected the dead until he said her name. In any case, what an incredible moment, when she did recognize him... when her sorrow was turned completely around into overwhelming joy, and she knew that all she had suffered had been washed away by the living truth of his life standing before her.
At this point, I think we should examine some other translations, because in this case I think it makes a large difference. The Joseph Smith Translation changes "touch me not" to "hold me not" and many other translations of the original Greek render the phrase here "cease from holding me," or "do not cling to me." I think the word choice here changes everything. It takes it from a sterile scene where the resurrected Lord could not be touched, to one where there was the overwhelmingly joyful embrace that you would expect. But then, after comforting Mary, Jesus had to go, because he still had to ascend to his Father, so he sent her ahead with a message for when he would come back later.
Today, let's remember Mary's overwhelmingly joyful experience of having her sorrow washed away, and realizing that even death could not hold her Lord. Let's realize as well that he can do the same for all of us, for because he overcame both sin and death, he can overcome all of our pains and our sorrows, as well as our mortality. He gives us immortality in our resurrected bodies as a free gift. Because Christ lives, we can live also. And he also overcomes our sins, in essence giving us video-game like infinite chances to keep trying until we get it right. All we have to do is keep playing and getting better (repenting and improving). Let's embrace that hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment