Pastor Paul
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,[c] “Rabbouni!” (Which means Teacher.) 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’
(John 20:16-17)
On Easter morning according to the Gospel of John, Mary is at the tomb and sees Jesus but doesn’t recognize him. Thinking he’s the gardener she asks what he may have done with Jesus’ body. When Jesus says her name, she immediately recognizes him and reaches out to grab hold. But Jesus has to get on with his mission in his new reality. Mary wants to preserve the way it was. She is not ready to move on.
Being a child of the “Greatest Generation” I grew up with early television. You know – the kind dependent upon weather, the proper position of the rabbit ears, the proper direction of the roof aerial, where you lived in the country, etc. In those early days most of us were lucky to receive five major networks clearly enough to view them through the snow, fog and crackles of T.V. in the 50’s. The offerings were limited but there are some I remember well. One - Your Show of Shows – introduced me to Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howie Morris, Mel Brooks, Nanette Fabray and Carl Reiner (and behind the scenes Steve Allen, Woody Allen, Neil Simon). I have loved them all ever since and their zany antics still make me smile (and often LOL!)
I have read much material about and by most of these pioneers and comic geniuses. In Carl Reiner’s I Remember Me he shares this story about the birth of his son Lucas Joseph.
I shall never forget that day and the heart-stopping remark Estelle and I heard the obstetrician make as he examined our newborn for the first time. He said, “This boy will never walk.” Fortunately, the doctor noticed how his remark sobered the infant’s exultant parents, and he quickly added, “I meant that he’ll never walk, because he’ll always be running!” This guy’s an athlete! Look at him kick those little legs!”
As you will see, that doctor proved to be prophetic.
At the same hospital, three days earlier, Barbara Bain Landau gave birth to Susie, a beautiful baby girl. Martin Landau and I had the experience of standing together outside the hospital nursery window and staring proudly at the newest addition to our families. Lying side by side in two plastic containers were one-day-old Lucas and four-day-old Susie.
Seven and a half months after their first meeting, the two diaper-clad pals were crawling about on the carpeted living-room floor of our house in North Alta Drive. Marty, Barbara, Estelle and I stood by and watched as the tots crawled from the center of our sunken living room toward the two steps that led up to the foyer. Just as they reached the steps, something unexpected took place – Lucas stood up! All of us saw him standing up, and all were properly amazed. He just stood there and behaved as if it were natural for him to be upright. Susie, who was sitting just below him, reached up, grabbed a handful of his diaper, and pulled him down to where he belonged, sitting on the floor with her. Undaunted, Lucas stood up again and took two unsteady steps before Susie pulled him back down. Neither tot seemed to be upset. They were playing a new game they had invented: “I stand up, walk a step, and you pull me down!”
How many times like Mary, or Susie are we grabbing hold of someone or something in our lives that we are afraid of losing? People around us change and move in new directions and we are challenged to decide if our need to hold on is about them – or us. Both Susie and Mary were not ready for the new reality Jesus and Lucas were presenting. Lucas was willing to wait around until Susie could accompany him. Jesus had to leave but with the promise that Mary would be fine.
Lucas and Susie are friends to this day. And we, like Mary discover that newness blooms around us like the lilies at Easter because Jesus beckons us onward.
(John 20:16-17)
On Easter morning according to the Gospel of John, Mary is at the tomb and sees Jesus but doesn’t recognize him. Thinking he’s the gardener she asks what he may have done with Jesus’ body. When Jesus says her name, she immediately recognizes him and reaches out to grab hold. But Jesus has to get on with his mission in his new reality. Mary wants to preserve the way it was. She is not ready to move on.
Being a child of the “Greatest Generation” I grew up with early television. You know – the kind dependent upon weather, the proper position of the rabbit ears, the proper direction of the roof aerial, where you lived in the country, etc. In those early days most of us were lucky to receive five major networks clearly enough to view them through the snow, fog and crackles of T.V. in the 50’s. The offerings were limited but there are some I remember well. One - Your Show of Shows – introduced me to Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Howie Morris, Mel Brooks, Nanette Fabray and Carl Reiner (and behind the scenes Steve Allen, Woody Allen, Neil Simon). I have loved them all ever since and their zany antics still make me smile (and often LOL!)
I have read much material about and by most of these pioneers and comic geniuses. In Carl Reiner’s I Remember Me he shares this story about the birth of his son Lucas Joseph.
I shall never forget that day and the heart-stopping remark Estelle and I heard the obstetrician make as he examined our newborn for the first time. He said, “This boy will never walk.” Fortunately, the doctor noticed how his remark sobered the infant’s exultant parents, and he quickly added, “I meant that he’ll never walk, because he’ll always be running!” This guy’s an athlete! Look at him kick those little legs!”
As you will see, that doctor proved to be prophetic.
At the same hospital, three days earlier, Barbara Bain Landau gave birth to Susie, a beautiful baby girl. Martin Landau and I had the experience of standing together outside the hospital nursery window and staring proudly at the newest addition to our families. Lying side by side in two plastic containers were one-day-old Lucas and four-day-old Susie.
Seven and a half months after their first meeting, the two diaper-clad pals were crawling about on the carpeted living-room floor of our house in North Alta Drive. Marty, Barbara, Estelle and I stood by and watched as the tots crawled from the center of our sunken living room toward the two steps that led up to the foyer. Just as they reached the steps, something unexpected took place – Lucas stood up! All of us saw him standing up, and all were properly amazed. He just stood there and behaved as if it were natural for him to be upright. Susie, who was sitting just below him, reached up, grabbed a handful of his diaper, and pulled him down to where he belonged, sitting on the floor with her. Undaunted, Lucas stood up again and took two unsteady steps before Susie pulled him back down. Neither tot seemed to be upset. They were playing a new game they had invented: “I stand up, walk a step, and you pull me down!”
How many times like Mary, or Susie are we grabbing hold of someone or something in our lives that we are afraid of losing? People around us change and move in new directions and we are challenged to decide if our need to hold on is about them – or us. Both Susie and Mary were not ready for the new reality Jesus and Lucas were presenting. Lucas was willing to wait around until Susie could accompany him. Jesus had to leave but with the promise that Mary would be fine.
Lucas and Susie are friends to this day. And we, like Mary discover that newness blooms around us like the lilies at Easter because Jesus beckons us onward.