That is the order of writing thought to be so by most scripture scholars; but regardless of the order of writing, the truth revealed is the same.
The God of the universe, in the heavens, who always was and always will be, and the God whom the Jews believed that you could not look upon “his face” without perishing, for he was truly too great — is invisible, essentially.
But in Jesus the Christ, who was clearly visible in his human nature, we experience God, the word made flesh — not only as visible in himself, but also making the invisible God very much visible to our eyes.
Tricky? Play on words? Or rather a beautifully and profoundly expressed understanding of an ultimately unexplainable mystery?
I mean, God (the invisible) becoming visible?
And many would contend that, that became so visible and understandable on the cross when love conquered hate and the power of sin then was broken.
Love won out! God won out! Grace won out! Life eternal won out!
+ There is a phrase: “The devil is in the details,” an idiom that essentially means “Even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest”; or “Even minute details can have a big, often negative, impact.”
Since we are talking about Jesus, the risen Lord, in today’s Gospel, it seems inappropriate to speak of “the devil,” even idiomatically.
But, perhaps, it would work to say, in this case, the angel is in the details.
Mary, on that Easter morning, went to the tomb and found it empty. Her conclusion: “They stole the body of Jesus the Christ”; and that was because the stone covering the entrance to the tomb was removed.
So she ran to report all to Peter, who then ran to the tomb with John.
John, obviously younger or in better shape — or just physiologically a faster runner — got there first.
He looked in but did not go in. Rather, so respectful to the position of Peter the Rock, he waited and let Peter go in first.
They both saw the burial cloths strewn about on the floor and the head covering rolled up separately. And the beautiful snapshot (the angel in the details) of John was: “he saw and believed.”
+ Certainly, that is what the Easter event is all about. But, isn’t that equally true of the Christmas event?
That baby lying in a manger! That baby showed somehow a visible presence of the invisible God! That baby seeking birth not only in a manger but within the crib of each of our hearts!
That baby who would become that man who revealed the “God who IS love,” and simply and totally announced that to be so as he died upon the cross — forgiving and loving us!
+ We give thanks to God for John’s Gospel and for John’s letter, and for all who discover the invisible God and make that God visible through their faith and their living out the Gospel each day!
+ Alleluia! Alleluia!
Father Perry D. Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com. Follow Father Perry on Twitter: @MrDeano76.
