The Sacred Scripture is a plethora of stories where God and humans interact, especially, in the New Testament, as God dwells among them as incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus. Therefore, it is helpful to read it through applicable psychological theories or concepts. For the Gospel Reading of Tuesday within Paschal Octave (John 20:11-18), I have found that Margaret Mahler's concept of "object permanency", as well as, Jean Piaget's "object permanence" and "secure attachment" concept of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, can give helpful insights into the post-resurrection Paschaltide psychospiritual growth, with the case study of Mary Magdalene.
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During Paschal Octave, Gospel Readings are about the Resurrection and First Readings are drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, focusing on Peter upon Pentecost. This calls us to reflect and ponder how the resurrection of the Lord prepare us for Pentecost: How our renewal through the death and the resurrection of Jesus prepares us for our apostolic life upon Pentecost through charismatization. Keep this in mind as we engaged in the Word of God in Mass Scripture readings during the first eight days of Paschal Season.
Starting on Resurrection/ Paschal Sunday, lasting 50
days until Pentecost Sunday, Paschal Season is also the critical period to
cultivate what Margaret Mahler calls “object constancy” so that we grow
psychospiritually mature enough to be sent out to engage in our apostolic
mission, as the Apostles did, reflected in the Acts of the Apostles. It means
that we do the work of Jesus even though his physical presence is no longer
recognized in our naked eyes after his ascension (i.e. John 14:12), as he did
his Father’s work (i.e. John 5:17; 9:4).
We will be able to carry out the work of Jesus on his behalf even though
he will not be visible to our naked eyes (John 14:12).
According to Margaret Mahler, “object constancy” is
a milestone of psychological development in early childhood, no longer feeling
anxious and left alone even though one’s primary caregiver (mother) is not physically
seen in the immediate eyesight. It is because a child is able to internalize
her presence. This developmental psychological concept makes a good case study
with Mary Magdalene in the Gospel Reading of Tuesday within Paschal Octave
(John 20:11-18). This is for us to
understand that Paschaltide is a critical period of our psychospiritual growth to
have risen Jesus internalized as our object constancy (i.e. John 14:20;
15:4-11; 17:21, 23), not as a mere object to cling to (i.e. John 20:17a).
In this context, our primary object to form “object
constancy” with, in other words, to internalize whose presence, is risen Jesus,
who is to ascend in 40 days from the day of his resurrection (Acts 1:3) to
complete his threefold glorification of death, resurrection, and ascension
(i.e. Hebrews 2:9).
The Gospel Reading of Tuesday within Paschal Octave
(John 20:11-18), which plugs in between the Gospel Reading of Paschal Sunday
(John 20:1-9) and the Gospel Reading of the Second Sunday of Paschaltide (John 20:19-31),
is about Mary Magdalene’s psychospritual growth from what Margaret Mahler
describes as “separation-individuation” phase to “object constancy” through her
encounter with the empty tomb of Jesus and risen Jesus.
According to John, it was Mary Magdalene who
discovered that the cover stone of the tomb of Jesus was removed in the morning
of the first day of the week, and she reported this matter to Peter and John,
who rushed to the scene and saw the empty tomb, as read on Paschal Sunday (John
20:1-9). After that, Peter and John left the scene, but Mary Magdalene stayed
outside the empty tomb, weeping (John 20:10-11).
It was not that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb of
Jesus to see the resurrection but to make sure that his tomb was not disturbed
or tampered to assure herself that his body was securely laid in the tomb. Had
she ever been confident about the resurrection of Jesus, she would have
responded to what she saw in the tomb and the man standing by her differently
than what is described of her in the Gospel text.
Mary Magdalene remained very loyal to Jesus, as she
followed him to the foot of his Cross with his mother, Mary, and her sister, Mary
the wife of Clopas (John 19:25). She had been supporting Jesus and his public
ministry early on, upon taken seven demons out of her by him (Luke 8:3). Given
her closeness to Jesus, it is no surprise that she came to see his tomb early
in the morning and did not feel like going home upon seeing his tomb empty. She
was in anguish and weeping out of her grief by the tomb. In light of Margaret
Mahler’s psychological theory, she was going through a chaotic condition in the
separation-individuation phase before attaining object constancy by
internalizing the presence of risen Jesus. This is also similar to Jean
Piaget’s concept of “object permanence” to grow out of the sensorimotor phase
and to move on to the preoperational phase in cognitive development. While
Mahler’s “object constancy” is about internalizing an object dear to the
person, “object permanence” is the ability of forming cognitive schema of such
an object, whether the object is visibly recognizable or not, knowing that the
object is not lost. And this is also a sign of developing what John Bowlby and
Mary Ainsworth describe as “secure attachment”.
At that time, Mary Magdalene was still in the
“separation-individuation” phase before “object constancy” (Margaret Mahler)
and “sensorimotor” phase fore “object permanence” (Jean Piaget). That is why
her loyalty to Jesus was not yet based on the “secure attachment”(John Bowlby
& Mary Ainsworth) but more like physical clinging.
The rest of the Gospel narrative (John 20:12-18)
describes how Mary Magdalene began her transition from the “separation” side of
the “separation-individuation” phase toward “object constancy”, as well as, “object
permanence” , through her encounter with the two angels in the tomb and risen
Jesus, to form “secure attachment” with him.
Feeling permanently separated from Jesus, Mary
Magdalene was not just weeping. She could not help but peek into the tomb, so
she bent over. Inside the tomb, two angels in white sitting in the tomb, one
where Jesus’ head was placed and the other where his feet were (John 20:12).
Head was where kingly anointment was done, as
reflected in David’s Psalm (Psalm 23:5; cf. 1 Samuel 16:13; cf. Ecclesiastes
9:8). And his feet were anointed by Mary of Bethany six days before Passover
(John 12:1-3), for which he died as Paschal sacrifice lamb (John 19:31-42; cf.
Exodus 12:1-14). And Jesus is the Davidic Messiah King (e.g. Matthew 1:1-16; 2
Samuel 7:5-16; Isaiah 11:1-16). Thus, the positions of the two angels sitting
in Jesus’ empty tomb match where he was anointed.
And the angels asked her why she was weeping, and
Mary Magdalene said, “They have taken my
Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him”(John 20:13).
She had no idea who took the body of Jesus away from
his tomb in her assumption of the empty tomb. It means that the resurrection of
Jesus foretold by him did not really registered in her, though she might have
thought to believe it.
Mary Magdalene was still in the phase of
separation-individuation, more of separation, thus, anxious about where the
body of Jesus was while in her anguish of grief.
Then she turned around and actually saw risen Jesus
in her naked eyes – but she did not recognize him as Jesus (John 20:14).
Why she did not recognize him?
In her physical eyes, Mary Magdalene sure saw Jesus
but in her eyes of faith, no. And this is related to her assumption: the body
of Jesus was taken by multiple persons, and it was because the resurrection was
not registered in her. Thus, it was because her faith was not steadfast yet.
Jesus asked her, just as the angels did:
Woman,
why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?
(John 20:15a).
Thinking that the very man, risen Jesus, in front of
her, was a gardener, Mary Magdalene replied:
Sir,
if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him
(John 20:15b).
Then, Jesus said to her:
Mary!
(John 20:16a)
In response,
Mary Magdalene said to him:
Rabbouni!
(John 20:16b).
See the change in Mary Magdalene’s psychological
state at that moment.
Calling risen Jesus “rabbouni”, which means
“teacher”(rabbi). But, rather than calling him “rabbi”, calling him “rabbouni”
shows that Mary Magdalene had a strong affection to her “rabbi”, Jesus. He is
her dear loving teacher. Not just a teacher.
Overwhelming joy replaced her anguish in finally
recognizing risen Jesus. So, she
probably did not know that she was holding Jesus dearly, as she would not want
to “lose” him again. She would not want to go through the anguish of grief over
“losing” her beloved “rabbouni”.
But, Jesus said to her:
Stop
holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my
brothers and tell them, “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and
your God” (John 20:17).
Why did Jesus have to say such a thing to Mary Magdalene as if he would not want to share her joy of discovering the real presence of him?
In fact, Jesus wanted his dear student, Mary
Magdalene, to grow psychospiritually, for the time after his ascension to the
Father so that she, too, would receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost together
with the rest of his disciples (John 16:7). He did not want her to weep again
upon his ascension. He wanted her to develop “object constancy”, as well as, “object
permanence”, internalizing his presence, which is omnipresence, for having “secure
attachment” with him. The process toward the “secure attachment” through “object
constancy”, as well as, “object permanence”, by internalization is actually
what Jesus was calling his disciples for.
So, Jesus said to the disciples during the Last
Supper:
Do
not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me
(John 14:1).
This is the first step to make transition from “separation-individuation”
phase toward “object constancy”.
Jesus said further:
I
will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor
knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I
will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world
will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in
you
(John 14:16-20).
Jesus assures that not seeing his physical presence
does not mean that they are separated from him. He remains with them through
another Advocate (ἄλλον Παράκλητον/allon
Parakleton) (John 14:16), namely the Holy Spirit upon Pentecost (i.e. John
16:7), as he himself is the Advocate (Παράκλητος/Parakletos)(1
John 2:1). The word, “Παράκλητος/Parakletos” literally means a
person who is called to be close to someone:
para(παρά) (besides, close to)
+ kaleo
(καλέω)(called to be). The Παράκλητος/Parakletos
remains with us, in the flesh of Jesus, upon his resurrection, and comes to us
in the Holy Spirit, as another Advocate, after his physical presence ascends to
the Father. And this is all possible because of the homoousios between Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In fact,
this is within the Trinitarian hypostatic union of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, as Jesus the Son and the Father are in consubstantial oneness
(John 10:30), as Jesus is in the Father, and He in him (John 10:38;
14:10-11). This means that Jesus the Son
always has the Father as his “object constancy”, as well as, his “object permanence”,
having the Father internalized. This is why Jesus has testified:
I
am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me
(John 8:16).
The
one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what
is pleasing to him (John 8:29).
But, nobody saw the Father with Jesus but only Jesus
physically, because he was referring to his homoousios
with the Father in his consubstantial oneness in the hypostatic union, as he is
in the Father, He in him (John 10:38; 14:10-11), reflecting Jesus’ “object constancy” with the
Father. And Jesus wants his disciples to have such a union with him, namely, by
internalizing his presence, forming “object constancy” for “secure attachment”
by saying:
On
that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you
(John 14:20).
In other words, Jesus called the disciples to form “object
constancy” by internalizing him, as he has internalized the Father for “object
constancy” to know that he is always with Him, whether he is with Him in heaven
or he is sent to the earth to be with them.
And this “object constancy” of Jesus by
internalizing him also means to have “secure attachment” with him, as these
words of Jesus reflect:
Remain
in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless
it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the
vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much
fruit, because without me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5).
If
you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it
will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in
my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I
have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love
(John 15:7-10).
In Jesus’ prayer to the Father for his disciples at
the end of the Last Supper, Jesus reiterated his desire on us to have him internalized
for “object constancy”:
They
may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be
in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the
glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in
me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that
you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me
(John 17:21-23).
Because Mary Magdalene is Jesus’ dear and loyal
disciple-student, the same applied to her.
Thus, through her encounter with risen Jesus and his
call for “object constancy”, Mary Magdalene goes through “object constancy”, she became fit for “secure attachment” with Jesus.
And the physical presence of risen Jesus for 40 days until his ascension to the
Father served as the “transitional object”. And by the time of Jesus’
ascension, Mary Magdalene and the rest of the disciples were to develop “object
constancy” of Jesus, having him internalized, as he in them, them in him, just as
he in the Father, He in him, for having secure attachment with him. This way, their
faith is strong enough to receive the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to be sent out
to make disciples of all nations without worries as they know he is always with
them (Matthew 28:19-20).
Mary Magdalene had to learn from risen Jesus that he
was not an object for her to cling to physically but rather to be internalized
for “object constancy” to form “secure attachment”, which is transcendental and
eternal.
As she began transitioning to this, her anguish of
grief was replaced with elating joy. So, she gleefully announced, “I have seen the Lord!”(John 20:18).
Fast-forwarding beyond Pentecost, in the First
Reading (Acts 2:36-41), we see how Peter, who successfully formed “secure
attachment” to risen Jesus, through “object permanency” by internalizing him, confidently
gave testimony to him. And, this netted 3,000 new disciples to let the nascent
Church grow. But, Peter may owe this not only to Jesus but also to Mary
Magdalene, because it was she who called his attention to the resurrection (John
20:2, 17-18).
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