Don’t Hang On

In the gospels, especially in the Gospel of John, the writers put some very interesting, at times, puzzling, words into Jesus’ mouth. Almost always, what Jesus says is challenging. There’s such a line (John 20:17) that was in the liturgical readings during the Easter season. Mary Magdalene went before dawn to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been placed just before the Sabbath. What a disturbing surprise when she finds the huge stone that covered the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away. Even greater was her shock to look in and discover that the corpse of her beloved friend was gone. She breaks down in deep sobbing and weeping.

Meanwhile, backing away from that horror of emptiness, she turns and there’s a man standing there. Mary quickly assumes that he is the person responsible for caring for the garden that surrounds the tomb. The man speaks with great tenderness and concern, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?” Mary blurts out, “Sir, if you have taken him away, just tell me, and I will go get him.” The stranger lovingly says  her name, as only Jesus has ever done, “Mary.” Instantly, Mary recognizes that this is Jesus – somehow changed, and yet the same.

Mary’s first reaction, of course, is to reach out to embrace the one so dear to her. Jesus says, “Don’t hang on to me.” This seems unnatural, uncaring. Jesus explains that his return journey to his Abba is not yet complete. And, as he tells the disciples later, unless he goes, the promised gift of the Holy Spirit cannot come. As long as Jesus was physically present with them, he was limited in ways the Holy Spirit is not. Through the Holy Spirit, the ongoing, loving presence of Jesus continues beyond the boundaries of time and space.

Don’t we prefer to hold on to all the good that we have experienced? When much seems just right it’s difficult to believe that if we move beyond that comfortable known space something more, something better awaits. But we need to let go. We need to let go of the past, and our cherished dreams about the good old days, to live fully the gift of this present moment. If our hands are full, we cannot receive anything more. The same fact applies to our lives. 

It may be that the emerging experience that our lives move into is not as pleasant or easy as what we think we once had. But if we try to cling to what has been, it’s much harder to welcome the gifts God offers now to help us to live this new reality well. As John Bradshaw used to say, “Life moves forward, not backward.” Jesus invites us, “Don’t hang on.”