And
behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced
his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go
tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:9-10
and there they will see me.” Matthew 28:9-10
Piety
I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my
right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my
tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will
not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your holy one to
see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me
with joy in your presence. Psalm
16:8-11
Study
When I worked in various
libraries back in high school and college, I remember putting a particular book
on the shelf which had a very odd title.
“If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!”
Psychotherapist Sheldon Kopp wrote this book in 1972. Among other messages, it warned people who
were going through periods of personal growth that the “guru” or expert of the
day was not the Buddha. To a high school kid who understood little about
Buddhism, it seemed counter-intuitive at best to want to kill the leader of
your religion. Had I taken a basic
psychology class, I might have understood more about the themes in the book
which deals with the essence of therapist-client relationships as a parallel
journey of two human beings dependent upon the ability of each to care for the
other.
What would have happened if the wrong people met Jesus on the road that
first Easter Sunday? What if it was the
soldiers who so easily gave in to the temptation of the bribe? They might have done exactly that – killed
him or at least tried to do so (again).
Jesus, however, carefully revealed his Risen nature only to true
believers. There was no doubt in the
minds and hearts of the women who were leaving the empty tomb. They immediately embraced his feet, feet that
just days ago were anointed with expensive oils and perfumes. Just as Jesus took on the role of servant and
washed the feet of his disciples, these women embraced His holy feet
again.
Just like Jesus’ human life began with the announcement of an angel,
his Risen life starts off the same way.
Action
Our 50-day Easter journey does not end with the pious act of kissing
the feet of the Risen Lord. We must
still take up his mission. Like the
women of Jerusalem, we must cast aside our fears and go tell the story to
others.
Where will Jesus meet you today?
What is Jesus telling you to do?
To where is he sending you?
No comments:
Post a Comment