The encounter between the Risen Jesus and Mary Magdalene is very poignant. She comes to recognize him when he calls her by name, when he asserts the connection, the bond, the intimacy that they possessed as teacher and disciple. However, Jesus adds, “Do not cling to me.” Do not cling to how our relationship used to be in the past. Do not cling to the way things were when we walked the dusty roads of Galilee. Our relationship will still be close, will still be intimate — but it will be different after the Easter event. That serves as a reminder that we all tempted to cling to things, to cling to how we’ve operated in the past. For example, Pope Francis is challenging the Church that we can’t do what we’ve been doing because it has not been effective in presenting the mercy of God to a hurting world. Our prayer: what are we holding onto that keeps us from seeing the new thing God is doing?
