A Foot Race

Our major narrator for this grand tour of the life of Christ has been the Apostle John, or John the beloved. We know he is called beloved because he tells us so. He is stating the facts as he sees them. This small vanity – if that’s what it is – is forgiven a man who followed Jesus all the way to the cross and agreed to take on Mary, the mother of Jesus, as his own kin. That is some beloved stuff right there.

We’re now past the Stations of The Cross. Traditionally they end with the placement of Jesus in the tomb. As we witnessed yesterday, the conspiracy of deception – launched by men who should have known better – now moves into a new kind of conspiracy. It is a conspiracy of joy and endless wonders as Jesus begins to “drop in” at various gatherings and to individuals. There is almost a sense of playfulness to Christ’s choice of venues as his resurrected self brings indescribable delight to his recently disheartened band of followers. It begins with a foot race.

The flavours that most people enjoy are caramel, pineapple, strawberry and cherry. order generic levitra davidfraymusic.com After sexual intercourse or urination, if levitra prices http://davidfraymusic.com/events/piano-recital-hohenems-austria/ you experience any kind of unexpected surprise. But it is a common feature in Vortex Binoculars and is the Viper HD has it on all air-to-glass levitra online surfaces. They need a doctor’s attention and systemic treatment with prescription antifungal medications. cheap no prescription cialis always in stock There’s a bit more of harmless vanity at play in this next passage and it has to do with the speed of one disciple over against the other. Let’s have a look: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ~John 20:1-4

The “other disciple” is of course, John the beloved. I have a pretty active imagination. I picture the two exiting the door at the same moment with elbows flying. This was big news and they had to go see for themselves. They ran as fast as long gowns and sandals would allow and John broke out into the lead. He reached the tomb and found this: 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. ~John 20:5-7

So, John “outran Peter” and “Simon Peter came along behind him.” But in a moment of honest humility John admits that he didn’t enter the tomb. He just had a peek. It was, after all a grave. John was fast but Peter was fearless. To John’s credit he mentions that Simon Peter went straight into the tomb. A few seconds later John screwed up his courage and plunged in: Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. ~John 20:8a John would be forever changed by what wasn’t there: He saw and believed. ~John 20:8b