A Journey of Faithfulness with Mary Magdalene Guided Meditation
I've been pondering the idea of faithfulness lately. I realized I had been holding on to some pain from old versions of myself that needed updating on how things are now. In seasons when I walked through really tough, bewildering life circumstances, I judged myself for not suffering "well." For not "trusting God" for not being able to see a higher purpose in all of it.
Since the loss of my friend Rebecca, I've taken a lot of solace in the humanity of Jesus' followers before and during his death and after his resurrection. As I read through the gospel accounts of the crucifixion, I'm struck by the dark emotions I found there. In the Garden of Gesthemane, Jesus’ disciples were “drugged by grief.” I understand that feeling.
Jesus tells Mary "don't cling to me" when she sees him in the garden after the resurrection. I don't think he's annoyed. I think he's trying to help her see that clinging to the way things used to be isn't a productive way to live. But I can totally relate to the desire to cling to the way things used to be. We can still be considered faithful even when we wrestle with the way things are. Mary surely was. Maybe faithfulness can be defined as honest presence; showing up to what is.
I've listed out the references below of Mary Mag at the various scenes that you can go look up!