St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

4/5

"Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb."

                                                                                                                          John 20:3

Read John, chapter 20, verses 1 to 10

          The Passion followed by the resurrection shows the reader of John's Gospel that the cost of God's love must be experienced before love's victory.  But finally, the love demonstrated throughout the life of Jesus conquers all the lesser powers of the world.

     The account begins in the pre-dawn darkness (verse 1), symbolizing the darkness of the world apart from Jesus.  The disciples had not yet experienced the light of faith in the resurrection.  But the darkness cannot overcome the light of the world (1:5).  Mary Magdalene thought that the body of Jesus had been stolen when she saw the tomb no longer sealed by the stone.  The "we" of verse 2 hints at the tradition recounted in other Gospels that there were other women besides Mary Magdalene at the tomb.

     Again, the beloved disciple and Peter are presented together.  The beloved has the edge on Peter both in speed and insight.  Yet in a profound symbolic gesture, he steps aside after arriving at the tomb, allowing Peter to enter the tomb ahead of him.  The move expresses the recognition within the aposolic community of the leadership of Peter.  In every other way, however, the Gospel presents the beloved disciple as a model.

     The scene builds up to the climatic verse, "He saw and believed" (verse 8).  The beloved disciple came to believe when he saw the burial clothes lying where the body of Jesus had been.  If the grave had been robbed, surely the wrappings would have been taken with the body.  The scene is contrasted with the earlier scenf of Laszarus emerging from the tomb, still cound in the wrappings of death.  Jesus is risen to new life, not merely brought back to this life.

For Reflection:  What is the difference in the way the disciples experienced the resuscitated Lazarus and the risen Jesus?  What aspect of the faith of the beloved disciple would I like to imitiate?

Prayer Starter:  Risen Lord, you are the light that shines in the world's darkness.  Give me the energy to run to you and the insight to experience your risen presence.

Fr. Joachim