Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'" John 20:17
Confession: I am not a hugger. It has taken me quite a bit of time to get used to all the kissing and hugging that Central Asian and Middle Eastern cultures like to do. Now it would seem that the practice is popular with Europeans and South Africans, too. Praise the Father for my Australian and German friends...they are a bit more hands off! ;)
Today as I was reading, I was struck by the phrase in John 20:17 "stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended..." Yes, I confess as a non-hugger that perhaps in the past I skimmed right over this part of the verse and in my mind thought, "ya people stop being so clingy!". I tend to focus more on the second half of the verse that says go and tell the brethren this... However, today when I read this, it occurred to me that Mary was not to cling to Jesus at that moment, but now that He is ascended she is/we ARE to cling to Him. Very interesting; isn't it? AT
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