My posting of “Noli Me Tangere” provoked several reactions from women who disagreed strongly with my portrayal of Mary Magdalene. One told me “Mary would never have been so chatty!” Another reminded me that the Magdalene was “a woman of her times”, and her first instinct would have been to throw herself at the feet of her Lord and Master. She would never have been so bold as to hug Him. I have to agree. Those two perceptions are much more in touch with the Scriptural portrayal of Mary Magdalene, and more consistent with what little we do know of her character.
I apologize for casting her as a modern day, assertive, independent, over-talkative woman, who didn’t know when to shut up. The way I portrayed her probably reveals more about me than it does about her. It probably shows the stereotypical women I am most familiar with, as a man of my times! Maybe my first posting of the event is a good picture of the way Christ would encounter the many Mary Magdalenes of our day?
The posting that follows is an attempt to atone, and to respect the Magdalene by trying to come closer to the person she really is. I hope this account of her encounter with Christ also respects the fact that his gestures and movements speak to us even more eloquently than his words to her. To begin…
Mary Magdalene has thrown herself on the ground at the feet of the Risen Lord, whom she has recognized when He spoke her name. Overcome by his presence and weeping with joy, she clutches at His feet, and presses her forehead in the dirt.
Christ: Do not hold Me. (John 20:17)
Bewildered, Mary dares to look up. She gasps, stunned at what her eyes behold. He is bending over her. She sees every detail of his head at once. Her eyes “freeze” His face as if time were standing still. Looking up, she absorbs his eyes shining at her, teeth white, mouth curved open in a joyous smile, beard and hair neatly groomed. Her memory flashes back to the blurred image of His face on Veronica’s towel, matted with hair, streaked with dirt and blood. She finds herself speechless. She also remembers His face above her as she stood under the cross, puffed, battered and misshapen.
His right hand reaches down and firmly grasps her left arm just above the elbow. He begins to pull her firmly but gently to her feet. She cooperates by getting her legs set beneath her, and pushing herself upwards. Once standing, she is still dazed, and uncomfortable, her chest still heaving. She does not want to take her eyes off Him but cannot help from lowering her head and looking downwards.
Our Lord lets go of her arm, and puts his right hand under her chin. He lifts her downturned face upward, toward Him. His gaze is as gentle as it is penetrating. She feels her legs strengthened and her whole self calmed by the love He communicates.
The Lord’s voice steadies her even more. She finds herself focusing entirely on His words as He says “I have not ascended to the Father”. (verse17). She hears the lighted-heartedness and also the gravity in his tone, and knows He is being playful and serious at the same time. Obviously there is no need to clutch Him since He has not gone anywhere. Her touching Him was never an issue. If it were, He would not be holding her now. His voice continues: “Go to my brethren and say to them: ’I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (verse 17).’”
The encounter is over. She is dazed, but has no doubt about what has happened. He happened.
But she is back in real time. She feels the breeze and the warmth of the sun. A nearby cricket “sings” tuneless notes for her. She tells herself she has something to do. Her body moves forward even though she has given it no conscious command. As her legs propel her, head and heart feel wonderfully united but disconnected from the rest of her. She ponders, wonders, loses herself in the event that took place. She realizes she has no way to express what just happened.
(Yes I saw Him. Yes, He was new, the same but so alive and so different. Risen! I have no words to tell what He looks like. The apostles are going to think I am crazy or hysterical. Well, that is their problem, not mine. Hah, what does it matter what they think? The only thing that matters is I carry His face burned into my heart. That will carry me through everything for the rest of my life.)
“Then Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples ‘I have seen the Lord!’ and she told them that He had said these things to her.” (verse18)
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