“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’). Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
- John 20:16-17 -

Realizing the one who is standing before her is not the gardener but Jesus, Mary turns towards Jesus and runs to embrace him in excited joy.

However, though Jesus is risen, though death has not been the end, Jesus gently but firmly insists that things cannot be as they were before: Jesus’ resurrection illustrates both continuity and discontinuity. These appearances are a grace, a proof positive of the resurrection’s reality, yet they will come to an end when Jesus’ earthly life, even in this resurrected state, will itself come to an end with the Ascension. Mary, full of joy, dashes away to witness no longer to a puzzling absence but to an astonishing presence: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ (v 18).

Apply: Bring any situations where you may be feeling fearful and uncertain to Jesus. Ask for his presence to enfold you and give you the courage to be faith-full.

(From Encounter with God)