When Mary Magdalene meets the risen Christ, everything changes—could it for you too? This contemplative session invites you into Lavinia Fontana’s tender resurrection scene and the gospel of John, where art and scripture speak in harmony. Step closer, and listen for how the Gardener of your soul might be calling your name.

John 20:11-17

Use this guide for prayer and contemplation. Read slowly, pausing as needed for silence and reflection.

Opening

Welcome. Settle into a comfortable posture, and allow your breathing to slow. In this time of contemplative prayer, we open our hearts to God and invite a deeper relationship with the One who loves us.

Take a quiet moment in silence.

Reflection on Contemplative Prayer

Sometimes it helps to be reminded that contemplative prayer can be practiced anywhere, with many kinds of resources. You are not limited to one guide or one set of images. You can choose artwork that touches your heart and mind, and allow it to lead you toward God.

One simple approach is to pair a work of art with a Scripture passage that tells the same story—or that echoes the themes the artwork awakens in you. Then, with unhurried attention, you listen: to the Scripture, to what you notice in the image, and to what God may be speaking within you.

Scripture

John 20:11–17

Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been—one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Pause in silence. Notice what word, phrase, or image lingers with you.

Artwork for Prayerful Reflection

Touch Me Not — Lavinia Fontana

In this painting, two Easter scenes appear at once. In the foreground, Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Christ in a garden and mistakes him for a gardener. When she recognizes him, she reaches toward him, and he responds with the words often summarized as “touch me not.” Christ is depicted barefoot and dressed in simple gardening clothes, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and holding a spade. His hand is raised over Mary Magdalene’s head, as if blessing her.

In the background, we see another scene: Mary Magdalene again, alongside Jesus’ mother Mary, walking toward the tomb. Inside the tomb, a glowing angel is visible. The painting’s vivid colors and warm, tender treatment invite us to enter the story with our own hearts and questions.

Reflection Questions

As you listened to the Scripture, what word or phrase seemed important to you?

What word or phrase called out to you?

What picture or image seemed to lead you toward God?

How is this depiction of Easter—these two scenes of resurrection—different from how you imagined it?

What in the artwork draws your eye?

What do you think as you see Christ portrayed as a literal gardener?

Is there a word, image, or idea from Scripture that begins to form in your mind as you look at this painting?

Take a moment. Where is your eye drawn?

How does what you notice reflect the word, phrase, or idea that stood out to you from Scripture?

As you hear the Scripture again, do you begin to sense a message from God?

Is there something God may be telling you about this scene—or about something in your life right now?

How are art, Scripture, and your life tied together in this message from God?

Look again at the painting. Spend time with the scene in the background—with Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ mother Mary, and the angel. What message does the angel have for you?

From the Scripture and from the painting, how is the angel bringing you a word from God?

And what is it?

Now look at the scene in the foreground, with Jesus and Mary Magdalene. What do you bring to Christ—and how is he blessing you?

As you consider this Easter story and this Easter image, what is your Easter message?

Closing

God, thank you for meeting us in Scripture, in beauty, and in silence. Thank you for the ways you bless us and call us.

Be at peace. Continue to notice how God may be speaking to you—perhaps clearly, perhaps over the coming days as you return to prayer and contemplation. Amen.