Lecture 3 — Christ appears to Mary Magdalene

^20:14^ When she had said this, she turned around, and saw Jesus standing; and she did not know that it was Jesus. [n. 2505]

^20:15^ Jesus said to her: woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? She, thinking it was the gardener, said to him: lord, if you have taken him from here, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. [n. 2507]

^20:16^ Jesus said to her: Mary. She, turning, said to him: Rabboni, which is to say, Master. [n. 2513]

^20:17^ Jesus said to her: do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren, and say to them: I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God. [n. 2515]

^20:18^ Mary Magdalen went and said to the disciples: I have seen the Lord, and he said these things to me. [n. 2522]

2504. Now the Evangelist shows how Mary came to see Christ:

first, he tells how she saw Christ;

second, how he was recognized by her: Jesus said to her: do not touch me.

Concerning the first,

we see her seeing Christ;

and then what Christ said to her: **Jesus said to her: woman, why do you weep? **

2505. First, then, when she had said this, that is, when Mary said this to the angels, she turned around.

Chrysostom wonders why Mary, who was speaking to the angels, whom she considered to be at least men deserving of respect, turned around before they had answered her. (Commentary on Saint John 86.1.)

The answer is that while Mary was responding to the angels’ question, Christ arrived and the angels stood out of reverence. When Mary saw this, she was puzzled and turned around to see what had made them stand up. Thus in Luke mention is made that the two angels were seen standing (Luke 24:4). She turned around, and saw Jesus standing; and she did not know that it was Jesus; she was seeing him not in the splendor of his glory, whom the blessed angels honor in glory.

We see from this that if anyone desires to see Christ, they must turn round to him: return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you (Zech 1:3). Those come to the point of seeing him who entirely turn themselves to him by love: she hastens to make herself known to those who desire her (Wis 6:14).

Mystically, this signifies that at one time Mary had turned her back to Christ by her disbelief, but when she turned her soul to knowing him, she turned round to him.

2506. Why did Mary not recognize Christ, since he was the same person as before?

We should say that it was either because she did not believe that the one she had seen dead had risen, or else her eyes were held so that she would not recognize him, like the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:16).

2507. The words of Christ are now given: woman, why do you weep?

First we see Christ’s question;

then Mary’s answer.

2508. Concerning the first, note that Mary was advancing step by step; for the angels asked her why she was weeping, but Christ asked her whom she was looking for, for her weeping was caused by the desire which led her to look. Christ asked her whom she was looking for in order to increase this desire, for when she spoke of the one she was seeking, her love burned more intensely, and so she would continue to seek him. Seek his presence continually (Ps 105:4); but the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day (Prov 4:18).

2509. When the Evangelist says, she, thinking it was the gardener, said to him, we see Mary’s answer:

first, whom she thought was questioning her;

then her response.

2510. Mary thought the gardener was speaking to her, because she knew that the guards had already fled, frightened by the earthquake and the sight of the angels, and that the only one who would be there would be the one taking care of the place, the gardener. As Gregory says: this woman, in erring did not err, when she thought that Christ was a gardener, for he planted the seeds of virtue in her heart by the strength of his love. (Forty Gospel Homilies 25.4.) It is written: I will water my orchard and drench my garden plot (Sir 24:31).

2511. Mary said to Jesus, lord, if you have taken him from here, tell me. She calls him lord in order to gain his good will.

But since this gardener had just arrived, and Mary had not told him whom she was looking for, why does she say, if you have taken him from here? Who was him?

We should say that the force of love causes the lover to think that no one would be ignorant of the one who is always in his thoughts. For, we read in Luke that our Lord asked, what is this conversation which you are holding with each other as your walk? And one of the disciples answered, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? (Luke 24:17).

2512. When Mary says, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away, she shows a wonderful courage which would not be driven off by the sight of a dead person, and that she would have tried to carry the body away even though it was beyond her strength. But this is what is spoken of: love hopes all things (1 Cor 13:7).

She wanted to take him so the Jews would not violate the dead body and to carry it to another secret grave.

2513. Next the Evangelist shows Mary recognizing Christ, Jesus said to her: Mary. The Evangelist uses the name Mary, while before he had used the general word woman (John 13:15). He calls her by her own name, Mary, to show that she was well known to the saints. He determines the number of the stars, he gives to them their names (Ps 147:4); I know you by name (Exod 33:12); and to indicate that although all things are moved by God with a general motion, yet a special grace is needed for a person’s justification.

The effect of her being called by Christ was that she, turning, said to him, in Hebrew, Rabboni, which is to say, Master.

2514. Was not Mary always looking at Christ when he was speaking to her?

According to Augustine, this present turning refers to her interior state of mind; before, although she was facing Christ, she thought he was someone else, the gardener; but now her heart was turned and she recognized him for who he was. (Tractates on the Gospel of John 121.2.)

Or, one could say that, as was said, she thought he was someone else, and so while she was talking to him she did not look at him but was concerned with the Christ she carried in her heart, and was looking about for some trace of him. And, therefore, Christ recalling her, called out her proper name, saying Mary, as if he says: whom do you look back at? Recognize him, by whom you are recognized. And, at once, when she is called by name, she recognized the speaker, saying, Rabboni (which is to say, Master), for so she was accustomed to call him.

We can understand from this that the cause of our justification and of our profession of faith is to have been called by Christ.

2515. Next, at Jesus said to her: do not touch me, the Evangelist shows Mary receiving instructions from Christ;

one of them is negative:

the other positive, go to my brethren.

2516. He does two things about the first: he states the prohibition, and then gives the reason for it.

Christ warns Mary not to touch him, saying, do not touch me. Even though we do not read here that Mary wanted to touch Christ, Gregory says we can see from this that Mary fell at the feet of Christ and wanted to grasp the one she had recognized. (Forty Gospel Homilies 25.5.)

He adds the reason, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. It seems from this that after his resurrection, Christ did not want to be touched before he ascended. But the opposite is found in Luke: handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones (Luke 24:39).

It is no answer to say that Christ wanted to be touched by his disciples, but not by the women, for we see in Matthew, that Mary Magdalene and other women came to him and did grasp him by his feet (Matt 28:9).

Therefore, we should understand, according to the letter of the text, that Mary saw angels at two times: the first time was with the other women, when she saw one angel sitting on the stone (Matt 28:2; Mark 16:5); the second time was when she returned and saw two angels inside the tomb (John 20:12). Similarly, she also saw Christ two times; first in the garden, when she thought he was the gardener, as we just saw; second, she saw him when she was running with the other women to tell the disciples what they had seen, in order to strengthen them in their faith in the resurrection. It was this second time that they approached and held Christ’s feet (Matt 28:9; Mark 16:9).

2517. There are two mystical reasons why Christ did not want to be touched. First, because this particular woman signified the church of the gentiles, which was not to touch Christ by faith until he had ascended to the Father: a congregation of people will surround you; for their sakes return on high (Ps 7:8).

The other reason is given by Augustine in his work The Trinity. It is that touch is the last stage of knowledge, when we see something, we know it to a certain extent, but when we touch it our knowledge is complete. (The Trinity 1.9.18.) Now this particular woman had some faith in Christ, which was that he was a holy man; and this was why she called him Master. But she had not yet reached the point of believing that he was equal to the Father and one with God. Thus Christ says, do not touch me, that is, do not allow what you now believe of me to be the limit of your faith, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, that is, in your heart, because you do not believe that I am one with him; yet she did believe this later. In a way, Christ did ascend to the Father within her when she had advanced in the faith to the point of believing that he was equal to the Father.

2518. Or, we could say, with Chrysostom, that after this woman saw that Christ had arisen, she thought he was in the same state as he was before, having a life subject to death. (Commentary on Saint John 86.2.) She wanted to be with him as she was before his passion, and in her joy thought there was nothing extraordinary about him, although Christ’s flesh had become much better by arising. To correct this impression Christ said, do not touch me. It was like saying: do not think that I have a mortal life, and can associate with you as before: even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer (2 Cor 5:16). This is what he adds when he says, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. Accordingly, this statement does not give the reason for his prohibition, but an answer to an implicit question. It was like saying: although you see me remaining here, it is not because my flesh is not glorified but because I have not yet ascended to my Father. For before he ascended he wanted to strengthen in the hearts of the apostles their faith in his resurrection and in his divinity.

2519. After this he gives his positive directions, go to my brethren, that is the apostles, because they are his brethren by his having the same nature: he had to be made like his brethren in every respect (Heb 2:17); and they are his brethren by being adopted through grace, because they are the adopted children of his Father, of whom he is the natural Son.

Note the three privileges given to Mary Magdalene. First, she had the privilege of being a prophet because she was worthy enough to see the angels, for a prophet is an intermediary between angels and the people. Second, she had the dignity or rank of an angel insofar as she looked upon Christ, on whom the angels desire to look. Third, she had the office of an apostle; indeed, she was an apostle to the apostles insofar as it was her task to announce our Lord’s resurrection to the disciples. Thus, just as it was a woman who was the first to announce the words of death, so it was a woman who would be the first to announce the words of life.

2520. And say to them, I ascend to my Father and to your Father. As above: I am going to him who sent me (John 16:5, C. 16, L. 1); he who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens (Eph 4:10).

Arius based his error on these words, my Father and to your Father. He took it to mean that God is the Father of the Son in the same way that he is our Father, and that he is the God of the Son in the same way that he is our God.

The answer to this is that the meaning of these words must be gathered from the circumstances in which they were spoken. Christ said before, go to my brethren. But Christ had these brethren insofar as he had a human nature, and in his human nature he is subject to the Father as a creature to the creator, for the body of Christ is something created.

2521. Or, according to Augustine, Christ is speaking of himself and referring to each of his natures. (Tractates on the Gospel of John 121.3.) I ascend to my Father and to your Father refers to his divine nature, and from this point of view he has as Father God, to whom he is equal and like in nature. Thus, the meaning is my Father by nature, and your Father by grace. It is saying in effect: the fact that you are adopted children by grace is due to me: God sent forth his Son . . . so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4); for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren (Rom 8:29). When he adds, to my God and your God, he is referring to his human nature. From this point of view God rules him; thus he says, my God, under whom I am a man. And your God, and between him and you, I am the mediator: for God is our God because through Christ we are pleasing to him: having then been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained access by faith to this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of the children of God (Rom 5:1); God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Cor 5:19).

2522. Mary was quick to obey, as we see from Mary Magdalen went, and said to the diciples: I have seen the Lord, and he said these things to me. She came from the place in the garden in front of the stone of the sepulchre, announcing to the disciples. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you (1 Cor 11:23); what I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you (Isa 21:10).