John
20:1-9
It
was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of
Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the
tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus
loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know
where they have put him.’ So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the
tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter,
reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the
ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went
right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth
that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in
a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also
went in; he saw and he believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand
the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.
Food
for thought on Easter! DID HE OR NOT RISE FROM THE DEAD?
What
do you think? Did Jesus rise or not from the dead? Well, let's look at the
gospel reading of this Sunday. Mary comes to the tomb a good while before
daylight. When she arrives, she finds the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.
Immediately, she runs to find the disciples of Jesus and she tells them that
the body of their Lord is missing from the tomb. When they hear this news,
Peter and John runs to the tomb to see what has happened. When they arrive,
they both see that linen clothes are lying there undisturbed and the napkin
that had been around His face lying folded, in a place by itself.
What
do the grave clothes tell us about the resurrection of Jesus? First, I believe
that Jesus left His grave clothes behind for a reason. He left them behind so
that they could preach a message to all those who saw them early on that Sunday
morning. The gospel says that the linen clothes were lying still in their
folds. This means that they looked exactly like they were still around the body
of Jesus. You see, the burial spices would have hardened the cloths around the
body and would have formed a cocoon; the cloths still resembled the shape of
the body of Jesus.
Another
truth to note is that the scene is very orderly and undisturbed. Had the body
been taken by grave robbers, the wrappings around the body would not have been
removed, and if they had been removed, they would not have been left in such an
orderly fashion.
Then,
there is the matter of the napkin, which had covered the head of Jesus. Had the
body been removed by others, the napkin would merely have lain where it had
fallen. Instead, it had been folded and laid in a place by itself. Everything
speaks of calmness and order in the empty tomb of Jesus!
The
only logical conclusion to the matter is that the tomb was a scene of order and
calm because Jesus had merely passed through His grave clothes; he simply
evaporated. He then must have folded His own napkin and laid it aside. He left
behind a scene of peace and order so that all those who look in would believe.
And they did. At least John did. The gospel says that he saw the grave clothes
and believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.
The
part that love plays in this story is extraordinary. It was Mary, who loved
Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb. It was John, the disciple whom Jesus
loved and who loved Jesus, who was first to believe in the Resurrection; when
John saw the scene, he believed. Why? Because he was the disciple who loved
Jesus most; he is the only disciple who followed Jesus until the end. All the
others run away. Love gave him eyes to read the signs and a mind to understand.
Here
we have the great law of love. Love is the great interpreter. Where there's
love there's understanding; if you love someone, you will understand them; you
can't understand someone you hate. If you don't understand someone, like your
spouse, your child, your boss, it is because you don't love him or her enough.
You will never understand someone whom you don't love. That's is the truth.
And
talking of truth. The story of the resurrection of Jesus is the story of the
triumph of falsity over truth, of injustice over justice, of evil over
goodness. Jesus was falsely charged of crimes he did not commit, and unjustly
sentenced to a death he did not deserve. His good friend betrayed him, his
trusted companions deserted him and his number one man denied him. The people
he loved demanded his crucifixion and chose to have the bandit Barabbas
released in his place. It is a story of betrayal and lies, dishonesty and
meanness, unfaithfulness and wicked violence directed against an innocent and
apparently helpless victim. All this comes to a head on Good Friday when we see
Jesus scourged, mocked, led on the death march, nailed to the cross where he
dies after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb.
It
is good news to know that truth is immortal. We can suppress Truth, accuse it
of being a lie, condemn it, torture it, kill it, bury it in the grave but on
the third day Truth will rise again. Remember this and do not give up on Truth
even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth; do not
give up on Justice. Do not give up on doing what is right. Truth will always be
true. Justice will always be just. Right will always be right even when the
world around us would have it otherwise. We must learn to believe in the sun
even when it is not shining, knowing that it will shine again.
It
is the end of the story that counts. That is why today we rejoice and are glad.
Even when we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust
discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; even when the enemy seems to be
winning the battle in our lives; yes, even when those we know speak evil
against us, and give us in to our enemies. Don't give in to lies. Be truthful.
Be good to the end.
Today
Christ has shown us that being and doing good is good. To him be praise and
honour and power and glory. Amen. Hallelujah!
No comments:
Post a Comment