Day 21: The Race

4th Friday in Lent

Scripture: John 20:4-7

^{NRS 4} The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.

Devotional: Mary Magdalene made her report to Peter and the Beloved that the body had been stolen so they left for the tomb to investigate. Their only information was that the body was gone and Mary did not know where it was. As they set out, a sense of urgency arose and they began to run. Years spent on a fishing boat don’t do much to train a runner, so Peter loses the race. The victorious beloved bends over to catch his breath on the outside of the tomb and only saw a pile of the linen wrappings that had formerly encased Jesus’ body. Clearly something wasn’t right, so he didn’t enter. Then came Peter, filled with urgency, huffing and puffing from being out of breath. Breathing easy is not required for bold action. Peter walks right into the tomb. He sees the same linen wrappings but he also notices the head covering rolled up in a place all by itself. What was he thinking? Resurrection? Probably not. They still didn’t understand Jesus’ teaching about suffering, dying and rising again. Most likely, they thought theft. That was what Mary reported and the linen and head covering had been stripped from the body. Someone must have been in the tomb. Grave robbing was a common practice which was the reason for the great stones placed over the entrances. There was nothing to suggest a miracle had occurred. Peter had seen Jesus bring people back from the dead: the widow of Nain’s son, Jairus’ daughter and Lazarus. When Jesus called His friend from the grave he came out with his wrappings intact because he couldn’t take them off by himself. If Jesus had risen from the dead, wouldn’t the same be true here? A body wrapped for burial cannot unwrap itself, so someone had to have done what Peter discovered. He was still reeling from the rooster announcing his courtyard failure, as he was forced to process the evidence. “Who would steal the body of the Messiah? Why would they? Wouldn’t God protect His Chosen One? Was Jesus really the Messiah?” At best, their race led to more questions. Easter Faith was still a distant horizon, but it would dawn. What races are we running in our Christian walks that are leading us to more questions? Sometimes we are made to think questions are wrong, but questions are the very things we have to work through to get to Easter Faith. We must never be afraid to ask questions, because that is the process by which we solidify our faith.

Prayer: Lord, Paul teaches us to run the race of faith and persist to the end. As we run, help us process our questions, so we can have the fullness of Easter Faith. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Song of praise:           In the Secret performed by Andy Park

                                                

Spiritual discipline challenge: After his race, Peter entered the tomb alone to consider the discovery about the body of Christ. Our challenge today involves solitude, just as Peter entered the tomb alone, find some time today to be alone and consider the truth of the empty tomb as it relates to our faith journey.