The reading is rich with meaning. First, we see typological symbolism of the new Adam and Eve in the new post-resurrection garden. Why did John the evangelist go out of his way to mention Mary first thought the risen Jesus was the gardener (Jn 20:15)? In Genesis, Adam was the gardener, to till the soil. Eve tempted him to do something, which seemed fine on the surface. As Scripture says, the forbidden fruit was good for food, ascetically pleasing, and desirable for gaining wisdom (Gn 3:6). Likewise, Mary Magdalene tempted Jesus to do something that seemed good on the surface: remain on earth to continue His mission as it was. The problem with temptations of both women is that while they seem good in themselves, they clearly contradicted God’s will. Adam’s sin disrupted God’s plan, and Jesus, who came to fix what Adam broke, would have also disrupted the divine plan had he succumbed to Magdalene’s wishes. His loving rebuke of Mary, something Adam should have done with Eve, enabled the Holy Spirit to be sent and humanity saved.

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Why is it God’s will that Jesus ascend rather than remain with us between His resurrection and last judgment? That’s a question I’ve had for a long time. Other than the mystery that necessitates His ascension in order to send the Holy Spirit to dwell in each Christian (Jn 16:7), there are two other possibilities that come to mind. First, our wounded finite human nature cannot directly see Christ in His glorified state. Appearing in an earthly pre-risen state, as He did with Magdalene, would not have worked in the long run for the salvation of souls. Secondly, Jesus does remain visible to His mystical body: in the Eucharist, divine Revelation, and the people of God.

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An open heart to God’s grace enables one to ‘see’ all these things with the eyes of faith. And as Jesus teaches us, this world, in the cutches of the law of death, is passing away to give way to a “new heavens and new earth” ( Is 65:17; Rm 8:19-21). Heeding Mary’s plea would have been counter-productive.

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Another thing to ponder. If Mary Magdalene was the prostitute of John chapter 8 (theologians differ on this), she was forgiven of her impurity, a snare from which so many young people today suffer. Our Lady of Fatima said that most people go to Hell due to sins of the flesh. In a sense, all sex outside marriage is a form of prostitution, inasmuch as it’s an exchange of bodies for something less than total commitment. Magdalene is nick-named by some ‘the first apostle’ for being the first to see the risen Jesus. Along with St. Augustine, you can probably make the case for her being the patron saint for our secular post-Christian pornography culture.