“Do not hold on to me.”

The Resurrection of the Lord; April 16, 2006

John 20:1-18

This is my fiftieth Easter and it surprises me that I never wondered about this before. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, and it almost sounds as though that’s it; the disciples believe in his Resurrection simply after seeing the empty tomb. She is supposed to carry the news of his Resurrection and Ascension, so it sounds as though he’s done making appearances. Of course, the rest of the Gospel of John is about further appearances, and other witnesses detail other appearances (Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 24:13-52; Acts 1:6-11; I Corinthians 15:5-8).

So, here is what I am wondering about this Easter: why does the risen Jesus appear to his disciples, to those who already believe? Would it not have been more effective if he had gone to Pontius Pilate and said, “You crucified me, but I am raised from the dead. Worship me!” Or perhaps to King Herod, who had taunted him, and said, “You wanted me to do tricks for you; how is this one? I was dead, but I am alive! Now let’s see you change water into wine.” Even better, he should have gone to the chief priests, the scribes and the Pharisees, all those old sorts who had been plotting against him. He should have gone to them and laughed in their faces and said, “Now who is the Messiah?”

So, what’s wrong with my thinking?

I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it: I’m trying to hold on to him. I’m trying to keep Christ in this world, playing by the rules of this world. That’s probably not what’s going through Mary’s head as she clings to his ankles,¹ that she wants to keep him in the world; she’s doubtless so relieved to see him alive, just as he said, that she wants to hold on and weep for joy. But let’s use the image anyway. Imagine we could hold on to Jesus, keep him from ascending to his Father, keep him in our world, playing by our rules.

Would Jesus be a Republican or a Democrat? Or would he be a Communist? Or a Libertarian? Would he have marched on Rome, followed by thousands of adoring converts, to claim the imperial throne for himself? Would he instead be CEO of the world’s largest corporation, making governments dance to his tune, getting armies and navies to secure the markets or resources he wants? Or would he go to Jerusalem and become High Priest, creating a new theocracy, using the power of personality and police to compel us all to obey his will?

You’re right; Jesus would do none of those things. Then why do you and I act as though in those things is where greatness lies?

Not that government, business, and religion are irrelevant; Jesus simply refuses to be boxed into any one of them. When Jesus died on that Good Friday, he did not die simply to establish a new political order. He died to free the creation from bondage to any single political order. He did not die simply to make the world safe for a free market economy; he died to free the creation from bondage to any exploitation. He did not die simply to start a new religious institution; he died to tear the veil that separates the creation from God, to open the way to God to any whose hearts are open to God.

Your politics, your economics and your religion may all be good things, but they are a shadow of the life that Jesus Christ offers you by the power of his resurrection. No, not just you, but us: a people of God, claimed by the Holy Spirit. If we try to hold on to him and bend him to our will, then he will gently break free and send his Spirit where the Spirit is welcomed, where people will not try to make Jesus play by their rules, but where they are willing to live in his way.

I think, for example, of the comunidades de base, the “base communities” of Central America. Oppressed by a rigid political and economic system and living in a hidebound religious system, people would get together and read the Gospels to one another and talk about what they mean in their lives. The spiritual renewal and empowerment they have experienced have undermined the established political, economic and religious order.

I am not here to urge you to adhere to a particular religious system, political affiliation or economic model. I am here to urge you to consider seriously the place of Jesus Christ in your life. We have read the Scriptures together today and so, in the best way we know, the risen Christ has appeared to you and me, but perhaps not to Pilate, Herod, the chief priests and the principalities and powers. Thank God that he has appeared to us, but do not try to hold on to him, to bend him to your will, to adapt him to your comfort level.

If you try to hold on to Christ, he will slip away. But if you are open to him and are willing to live in his way, then he will come to you. Christ is risen.

Let us pray. On this Resurrection Day we praise you for the life of Jesus Christ in us, for us and around us. We praise you for the ways you have brought new life to peoples throughout the world. Glory to you for your victory over death; glory to you for our salvation; glory to you for Jesus Christ. Alleluia! Amen.

Robert A. Keefer

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Clarinda, Iowa

[1] That is what John Calvin says it means, though (in his commentary on John).