December 4, 2023
Our Love Is Clingy
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ 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, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” John 20:15-17 (NASB)
I remember a few years ago I prayed to see my daughter one more time after she graduated to heaven. I had a dream that night I saw her. I was able to speak with her, but her gaze and focus were somewhere else. It was as if something were more important than just seeing us. This was totally unordinary. When my daughter was here, she would often run and hug me for no apparent reason. Something changed in this dream. She was focused on something greater than Mom and Dad. I remember the words she spoke after we wept and told her how much we missed her; “Dad, I have to go.” As we watched her walk away she disappeared. God allowed my foolish prayer. Sara was different in some respects. She had something else on her mind; someplace to go; something to do. We too, wanted to cling to her as Mary did with Jesus.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’” As we said previously in other devotional days, the term “Woman,” was an endearing term of respect used with women. Oddly, Mary is so overwhelmed by Jesus’ death, that she doesn’t take the time to listen to the Voice. It is only when Jesus said, “Mary!” that she hears His voice clearly. John voices how a shepherd calls his sheep, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;” (John 10:27). Sheep may not hear the low voice of the shepherd but when he announces loudly, it gets their attention and they respond. Mary heard His voice and responded the way sheep run to their shepherd when He calls. Mary still had not processed Jesus’s resurrection though. She only ran to embrace her “Teacher,” (or Rabboni) as the One who disappeared and is now found. So Jesus responded to her embrace, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;” “Stop clinging to Me,” is a verb that means to “fasten to.” “Hence it implies here, not a mere momentary touch, but a clinging to. Mary thought that the old relations between her Lord and herself were to be renewed; that the old intercourse, by means of sight, sound, and touch, would go on as before. Christ says, ‘The time for this kind of intercourse is over. Henceforth your communion with me will be by faith through the Spirit. This communion will become possible through my ascending to the Father.’”[1] Things changed.
One thing I have observed through this passage and through my dream is consistency. Human nature has not changed. We all miss our loved ones. We want to see them again, and we want to hug them as hard as we can. Mary’s relationship with Jesus was super special. He took time to help in her greatest need. It changed the way she saw Jesus. He genuinely loved her, not as the world did for a short time spending with her. She got to see Jesus that day. Although she couldn’t hug and spend too much time with Him, she knew He was alive. We too have this promise from God’s Word. One day we too will see Jesus. One day, we too will see our loved ones who know Christ as their Savior. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
[1] Vincent, M. R. (1887). (Vol. 2, p. 293). Charles Scribner’s Sons.