The New Wine Press vol 25 no 8 April 2017 | Page 14

Roll Away Your Stone, continued from page 10
blessing of the religious leadership. So much lost at
the hands of the Roman military machine and reli-
gious men fearing a threat to their power. All of the
possibilities to laugh, cry, talk, learn and just be with
their friend and teacher were buried in a tomb. They
believe they will no longer be greeted warmly with
his presence. There would be no more greetings of
peace, an end to stories that challenged their vision
of God, no more castigating Peter! Everything about
Jesus is now consigned to memory.
In Matthew’s version of the Resurrection the
women who go to see Jesus’ tomb are greeted with
an earthquake. The stone is rolled away from the
entrance of the tomb and an angel appears. This is
terrifying stuff! So terrifying that the tough, and
possibly battle hardened, guards “were shaken with
fear of him and became like dead men.” The women
must have been terrified as well, but must have been
able to overcome enough fear that they listened to the
voice of the angel. The angel tells them “Do not be
afraid!” and then to come in to the tomb to see that
Jesus’ dead body is not there anymore. Going into the
tomb, must have been the most terrifying part of the
experience for the women.
In the midst of their grief, their fear they are able
to see and hear. They don’t let fear, anger and sadness
keep them from seeing the presence of the divine that
is right in front of them. However, they must have
felt great joy knowing that their teacher, their friend
was raised from the dead. Their emotions had to
be different from where they were on Thursday. On
Thursday they had someone they were following, but
it was part of their everyday life. On Friday it was all
gone. On Sunday he was alive again and the joy they
must have felt would have been overwhelming.
We cannot forget the Good Fridays in out world.
Easter Sunday means nothing without it. At the
same time we look at the Good Fridays in our world
knowing that it is never the final answer. There
is hope around the block. A massive stone can be
simply rolled away. We can walk inside the tomb to
see that it is empty and that our brother, our friend,
our savior lives. Then we run out and tell the world
all about it. W
12 • The New Wine Press • April 2017
The Sacred Touch, continued from page 11
the person—look them in the eye and acknowledge
them as a brother or sister. More than just passing
by or tossing a coin, this human engagement lessens
the distance between the haves and the have nots and
invites the giver and the receiver into a relationship.
Our work of reconciliation is about breaching the
barriers and dismantling the walls that keep us apart
and disconnected. It calls us to move beyond what is
comfortable to the uncomfortable.
As I thought about the call of Pope Francis—a
call we hear in a host of ways—I couldn’t keep from
thinking that here was the answer to the question in
the cluster meeting. While wondering “what to do,”
what if we chose “touching” the men and women
begging—for more than money—on the street cor-
ners and in the alleyways of their neighborhoods?
In his book Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson says that
in order to make a difference—a real and lasting
change—we have to be willing to be proximate and
be uncomfortable. Is that not the call of the Gospels
and of our Pope today? We are called to draw near
and lessen the distance between humans if this vio-
lence in our communities is to stop.
Jesus knew the need for touch and its power. He
touched the outcast leper, the blind man, the wom-
an caught in adultery, the dead child, the Samaritan
woman at the well. He looked in the eyes of those
unlike himself, he was not afraid to get close to suf-
fering people. He could see what so many could not
see and he touched them. It was in that touch that
change happened.
It is not just giving, but it is in receiving as well.
How often we are brought to a new place or given a
new perspective and a new energy as we enter the
life of another? In scripture, we hear how Thomas,
in touching the wounds of Jesus, finds his faith and
courage. The two disciples walki