The
Resurrection Code
Fr.
George Smiga
April
15/16, 2006
John
20:1-18
It
is peculiar that when Jesus meets Mary Magdalene at the tomb
in today's gospel, he tells her not to touch him. Mary Magdalene
was one of Jesus' most faithful disciples. You would think
that when Jesus and Mary were reunited, they would embrace
in joy at his victory over death. But Jesus not only tells
her not to touch him, but implies that there will be a time
when they can touch. He says, “Do not touch me for I have
not yet ascended to my father.” What is this strange comment
of Jesus about? He seems to say: Do not touch me now but touch
me later—do not touch me while I am here; touch me once I
have gone away. What is Jesus attempting to say? His meaning
is certainly obscure. But there is a saying in biblical interpretation:
the obscure is an opportunity. The things we do not first
understand are an opportunity to think more deeply, to investigate
and discover a meaning we never expected.
This
is what I would like to explore with you on this Easter night—to
answer the question, why does Jesus tell Mary “Do not touch
me now”? To answer that question I am going to call upon the
services of one of the giants of Western Art—the Italian artist,
Giotto. Everyone knows that a picture is worth a thousand
words. About 700 years ago Giotto painted a resurrection scene
based upon today's gospel. You will find it below. I would
ask you to look at the picture now. How has Giotto presented
Jesus' resurrection?
 |
On
the left hand side of the painting you see two angels. They
are rather chubby and contented. They are sitting on a rosy
marble tomb. Since this is a resurrection story, we presume
the tomb is empty. At the base of the tomb you see the soldiers
who have been assigned to guard the tomb. They are fast asleep.
To the far right, you see the risen Jesus, dressed in white.
Kneeling on the ground in a maroon cloak is Mary Magdalene.
Here, Giotto has illustrated the very question we are trying
to answer. Mary Magdalene is reaching out, trying to touch
Jesus. But Jesus, with a gesture of his hand, is resisting
her.
How
can this painting by Giotto assist us tonight? Because (with
apologies to the DaVinci code) I believe that Giotto has hidden
in this picture the answer to our question. I would like you
to notice three details in the way he has drawn the figure
of Christ. If we can appreciate them, I believe we can not
only answer our initial question but also come to a deeper
understanding of the resurrection and how it applies to our
lives.
The
first detail to notice is that Jesus is drawn holding a banner.
You see it flying gently in the breeze, emblazoned with a
cross. The banner is a sign of victory. Of course, it is the
victory of Christ. But victory over what? We usually answer:
Jesus' victory over his death. But the victory is much bigger
than that. We believe that the resurrection of Jesus is the
first step in God's victory over the evil in our world—the
first step in the establishment of God's kingdom. What Easter
is about, what Jesus is about, what our faith is about is
a God who is opposed to evil and is determined to eliminate
evil from our midst. I mean all evil: the evil of poverty,
of violence, of hatred, of suffering, and even of death. God
intends to establish the kingdom. When that kingdom comes
all evil will be destroyed. Jesus' resurrection is the first
step in that cosmic plan. The banner is a sign of the victory
that in Christ has now begun.
For
the second detail, look at Jesus' foot. See how it reveals
the slant of his leg beneath his robe. You can see by that
slant that Jesus is moving, moving away. At this moment he
is pressing up to the very edge of the picture. With one more
step he will be gone. Where is he going? He tells us himself
that he is ascending to the Father. We know that Jesus is
not going to be gone forever. We believe that he will return.
He will return to complete the victory over evil and to finally
establish God's kingdom. But until he does return, the victory
over evil is not complete. As Jesus ascends to the Father,
we must admit that for now evil remains in our world and in
our lives. It can touch us and the ones we love. Until the
time when Jesus returns, we will continue to experience poverty,
violence, hatred, sickness and death. So Jesus' foot points
to his departure. It reminds us that at present the victory
is incomplete.
The
third detail is Jesus' hand. It is the most telling detail
of all. At first glance it appears simply as a gesture to
keep Mary Magdalene from touching him. But look at how Giotto
has drawn the hand. It is not a flat palm pressed as a wall
between Jesus and Mary. It is an open hand facing downward.
Where have we seen that gesture before? We have seen it at
confirmations and ordinations. It is the gesture of imposing
hands. This gesture commissions a person, sets someone aside
for a mission. If Mary Magdalene were to be moved to the right
one inch, Jesus' hand would be on her head. He would be imposing
his hand upon her. Giotto has done here something that only
artists can do. In one gesture he has captured two meanings.
One indicates that Mary should not touch Jesus now. The other
commissions her for a mission. What is that new mission? To
take up Jesus' mission of course—to carry on his work; to
be in the world opposed to poverty, violence, hatred, sickness,
and death. Mary Magdalene kneels here as our representative.
In the resurrection Jesus commissions us to carry on his work
until he returns.
Here
we find the answer to our initial question. How will Mary
Magdalene be able to touch Jesus after he has ascended? How
can we touch Jesus before he returns? We touch him by engaging
in his mission. We touch him every time we touch the poor,
the suffering, the dying, the victims of violence and hatred.
For he has told us whatever we do for the least of our brothers
or sisters we do to him. Until Jesus returns we are commissioned
to touch him in one another. In touching those we serve, we
touch Christ himself.
Look
again at the whole figure of Christ. The whole Easter message
can be found in his figure. That message is not limited to
what happened to Jesus two thousand years ago. It outlines
the pattern of our lives today. The three central virtues
of the Christian life—faith, hope and love—correspond to the
details which we examined. Faith calls us to believe in the
banner of Christ's victory, that the destruction of evil has
begun and no force can turn that victory back. Hope is what
we hold to in this time when Jesus has ascended to the Father
and when evil remains in our world. Love is our mission, our
call to serve one another, to touch Jesus in the least of
our brothers or sisters.
The
whole Easter message is contained in Giotto's figure of Christ.
It is a lot to absorb. In the picture, Mary Magdalene does
not seem to see it. She is still too busy trying to touch
Jesus at the tomb. The guards are oblivious. They are asleep.
But look at the angel on the far left. He is pointing to what
he sees in the risen figure of Christ. He is pointing for
our benefit, lest we miss it. This angel is proclaiming the
Easter message to us. Here is his proclamation: “You have
heard the gospel. Here you can see the gospel. But now you
must live the gospel. You must live it in faith, hope and
love.”
|
