Mary Magdalene – “Noli me tangere” is not what we think
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Noli me tangere, Titian, c 1514
Tomorrow is the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, one of my favorite saints, apostle to the apostles, and an important supporter of Jesus’ ministry. Why did Jesus say to her “Noli me tangere” outside his tomb?
I love St May Magdalene. She was for ever grateful to Jesus for healing her of 7 demons, she very likely was a benefactor of Jesus’ ministry, and a faithful and brave disciple that stayed with Jesus through His painful passion until He was put in the tomb. Of course, on Sunday she discovered the empty tomb and was the first disciple to meet the resurrected Jesus.
Unfortunately, instead of been remembered as a strong and faithful disciple, throughout history she has been accused of being a harlot, a terrible sinner, an intimate lover of Jesus, that she lived in conflict with Peter, and on and on. Along those lines, we remember that in John’s Gospel Jesus says to her “Noli me tangere.” This Latin phrase has been translated in English as “don’t touch me.” I always thought that was strange. Jesus had no problems touching people or been touched by others, from lepers to the apostle Thomas. So why reject Mary Magdalene like this? Or did he?
In John 20 we find Mary Magdalene returning to the tomb and finding it empty. She ran to tell the apostles, they came back and saw it with their own eyes, not yet understanding what it meant. They left, but she stayed behind weeping. Two angels asked her why she was weeping, and she said because they had taken her Lord. Then Jesus appeared to her and she first thought it was the gardener until He said “Mary,” she then knew instantly that it was Jesus, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). The Latin translation of the Bible had noted that Jesus said “Noli me tangere”, which has been translated as “don’t touch me.” But if you go back to the original Greek text, this can more accurately be translated as “cease holding on to me”’ or “stop clinging to me.”
Apparently, Mary did not want this encounter to end. Or perhaps she was clinging to the image of Jesus before his death and resurrection, wishing everything went back to the way things were. But Jesus needed her to move on from this, to let go because of two important missions. One for Jesus as he next said “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father.” The other for Mary Magdalene, “But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.”
In what ways am I clinging to only the two dimensional images of Jesus from the Bible? Am I not letting go of the historical narrative? I have stamps in my imagination of so many moments in Jesus life. All beautiful and important. But am I allowing the resurrected Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit and through the Holy Eucharist, to permeate through me and allow me to radiate His love, forgiveness, and healing? Can I move past holding on to the stories of Him and move into been one with him? That’s the aim of holiness. The goal is to live as Paul said:
“For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us!
