Inner Freedom
Resurrection Sunday
Daily Reading: John 20:1 – 9
Focus Passage:
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (Jn. 20:3 – 9)
In the two verses before this reading, we are given an important piece of information about the burial place of Jesus. John 19:41 – 42 says this:
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
This was a virgin tomb, so to speak (or perhaps you could think of it as yet another virgin womb for Jesus). It had never been occupied. In these few verses, the narration moves quickly from pointing out that “no one had ever been laid” there (19:41), to “they laid Jesus there” (19:42), to “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb” (20:2).
What these followers of Jesus found on that morning was not the body they anticipated finding, but clothing lying in the tomb.
On this Resurrection Sunday, I ponder the meaning in these words. John’s Gospel usually intends underlying meanings, so we might explore a couple of them.
First, the Gospel reminds us that burial places are not permanent abodes. They look permanent, but they are not.
I’ve been to more funerals than most people will attend in a lifetime, and I can tell you that everything about a funeral is made to affirm death’s permanence. The quality of the burial equipment (caskets and grave liners), the rites and rituals we follow at the time of death, and the shape of the funeral itself all point to death’s permanence. They send a message to the loved ones of the deceased: “Death is real!”
If Jesus’ burial is a paradigm for us, though, he used the garden tomb for a period of time, but then was no longer there. It held him for a few hours, but could not hold him permanently. Death is the seed-bed of life.
Years later, the Apostle Paul wrote about death as the enemy, but then issued this challenge: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55). Jesus’ “death” was a very hollow victory for death. Jesus’ life extracted the “sting” from death.
Second, what do the “clothes” in this passage represent? Jesus’ grave-clothes were left behind in the tomb. His person was not there, but his clothes were. Is that a symbol we should notice?
Think of what clothes represent for you. What do they mean socially? Clothing marks us and gives us a name, an image. Our clothes indicate how we see ourselves, and how we want to be seen by others. For example, we can easily manipulate the opinions of strangers by carefully choosing our clothing. It’s the reason so many of us get so uptight about what we wear and how we look. Our image is at stake, and our clothing communicates what we want others to think about us.
Jesus wasn’t found in the tomb, but his clothing was. He didn’t choose these clothes; rather, others chose the clothing for him. The clothing with which he entered the tomb said about him: “Dead!” But that estimation of him was wrong.
Clothing never tells the whole story about us. It creates an illusion, a false front. Tombs don’t hold people (the soul is luminous and eternal!). But they do hold clothing.
When we finally exit the tombs and dead-end spaces in which we live, we symbolically have to leave our own clothing behind.
The term for this “leaving behind” in the spiritual life is, “inner freedom.” What better word could we carry through this Resurrection Sunday than freedom?
My hope for you today is freedom, as you follow Christ out of the virgin tomb, and as you leave your grave-clothes behind with his.
For Reflection:
We hope, today and in the days ahead, to experience resurrection. The affirmations of Easter Sunday morning are not enough to carry us through life. We are invited to experience resurrection, to join the living Christ in his ongoing work of reconciliation and healing in the world.
Daily Reading: John 20:1 – 9
Focus Passage:
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) (Jn. 20:3 – 9)
In the two verses before this reading, we are given an important piece of information about the burial place of Jesus. John 19:41 – 42 says this:
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
This was a virgin tomb, so to speak (or perhaps you could think of it as yet another virgin womb for Jesus). It had never been occupied. In these few verses, the narration moves quickly from pointing out that “no one had ever been laid” there (19:41), to “they laid Jesus there” (19:42), to “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb” (20:2).
What these followers of Jesus found on that morning was not the body they anticipated finding, but clothing lying in the tomb.
On this Resurrection Sunday, I ponder the meaning in these words. John’s Gospel usually intends underlying meanings, so we might explore a couple of them.
First, the Gospel reminds us that burial places are not permanent abodes. They look permanent, but they are not.
I’ve been to more funerals than most people will attend in a lifetime, and I can tell you that everything about a funeral is made to affirm death’s permanence. The quality of the burial equipment (caskets and grave liners), the rites and rituals we follow at the time of death, and the shape of the funeral itself all point to death’s permanence. They send a message to the loved ones of the deceased: “Death is real!”
If Jesus’ burial is a paradigm for us, though, he used the garden tomb for a period of time, but then was no longer there. It held him for a few hours, but could not hold him permanently. Death is the seed-bed of life.
Years later, the Apostle Paul wrote about death as the enemy, but then issued this challenge: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55). Jesus’ “death” was a very hollow victory for death. Jesus’ life extracted the “sting” from death.
Second, what do the “clothes” in this passage represent? Jesus’ grave-clothes were left behind in the tomb. His person was not there, but his clothes were. Is that a symbol we should notice?
Think of what clothes represent for you. What do they mean socially? Clothing marks us and gives us a name, an image. Our clothes indicate how we see ourselves, and how we want to be seen by others. For example, we can easily manipulate the opinions of strangers by carefully choosing our clothing. It’s the reason so many of us get so uptight about what we wear and how we look. Our image is at stake, and our clothing communicates what we want others to think about us.
Jesus wasn’t found in the tomb, but his clothing was. He didn’t choose these clothes; rather, others chose the clothing for him. The clothing with which he entered the tomb said about him: “Dead!” But that estimation of him was wrong.
Clothing never tells the whole story about us. It creates an illusion, a false front. Tombs don’t hold people (the soul is luminous and eternal!). But they do hold clothing.
When we finally exit the tombs and dead-end spaces in which we live, we symbolically have to leave our own clothing behind.
The term for this “leaving behind” in the spiritual life is, “inner freedom.” What better word could we carry through this Resurrection Sunday than freedom?
My hope for you today is freedom, as you follow Christ out of the virgin tomb, and as you leave your grave-clothes behind with his.
For Reflection:
We hope, today and in the days ahead, to experience resurrection. The affirmations of Easter Sunday morning are not enough to carry us through life. We are invited to experience resurrection, to join the living Christ in his ongoing work of reconciliation and healing in the world.
Comments
Post a Comment