27-Dec-16

Gospel JN 20:1A AND 2-8
On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
Reflection:
Mary Magdalene said,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
Mary assumed Jesus' enemies or grave robbers had stolen His body.
Peter "went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place."
We do not know from this gospel story what Peter thought.
John...."the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed."
John, seeing the empty tomb and the burial cloths, "believed" that Jesus had risen.
If, like the people in this gospel story, I had traveled with Jesus for three years, what would I have thought upon discovering the empty tomb?
In all honesty, I do not know.
Some days my belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is rock solid. Other days it is weak and wavering.
I trust that, as He did with Thomas, Jesus understands, accepts, and continues to love me even on those days when my faith is faltering.
Jesus does not expect us to "make" ourselves believe. But, He does look to us to be our brother's and sister's keeper.
"Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." - - Matthew 25:34-36