The Journey To The Empty Tomb

The Journey to the empty tomb
So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than
Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. John 20:2‐8
The journey began much earlier, those callers to the tomb on that first Easter morning had spent some years
with Jesus as he journeyed to Jerusalem for what awaited, his arrest, torture and ultimate walk up Calvary to his
crucifixion .. Even though warned along the way that something of this nature awaited him in Jerusalem, they
couldn’t have been prepared for what had taken place … now, talk of an empty tomb, Jesus alive … just as he
HAD told them.
One take away from the story as told in St John’s Gospel is the sense of companionship of the TWO disciples,
their different pace and the acknowledgement that one had more lived experience than the other and so the
younger waited in those final moments so they BOTH could experience this moment of epiphany together.
All roads before and during the climb of Calvary led to the empty tomb of Easter. The promise fulfilled.
All of us need to recognise the journey .. the climb .. the pace (slow or fast) a journey that doesn’t need to be
alone, aware of another who might lead the way for the final steps. Our Lenten journey might mirror our very
life journey, moments of strengthened faith collided by moments when torturous experiences of reject on, failure, world’s chaos, bereavement, slows us on our own Calvary slope blinded by summit’s crucifixion unable to
envision the ‘empty tomb’.
We are in the middle of this Jubilee year of hope, pilgrims of hope, challenged to journey ‘TOGETHER’ and wait
for each other should our pace slacken. Together THEY SAW and they believed.
With similar encouragement … can we believe, we too can see and we too can believe.
ENCOURAGEMENT
One of the most beau ful gi s in the world is the gi of encouragement. When someone encourages you, that
person helps you over a threshold you might otherwise never have crossed on your own. There are mes of
great uncertainty in every life. Le alone at such a me, you feel dishevelment and confusion like gravity. When
a friend comes with words of encouragement, a light and lightness visit you and you begin to find the stairs and
the door out of the dark. The sense of encouragement you feel from the friend is not simply her words or ges
tures; it is rather her whole presence enfolding you and helping you find the concealed door. The encouraging
presence manages to understand you and put herself in your shoes. There is no judgment but words of relief
and release.
JOHN O’DONOHUE
In this Jubilee year of hope, can we be pilgrims of hope together, living this call as we ‘walk on with hope in our
hearts’ ENCOURAGING each other as people of Gospel JOY.