Easter Sunday

 Given the amazing advances and analyses of the Shroud of Turin I find myself fascinated by the scriptural references to this marvelous relic which I have seen referred to as God's "receipt for the resurrection." All of the gospels refer to the linen cloths: "Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body wrapped it in the linen cloth" (Mk 15: 46), "So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth" (Mtt 27: 59), "Then he (Joseph) took it down, wrapped it in the linen cloth and laid it in a rock hewn tomb" (Lk 23: 53) and "They (Joseph and Nicodemus) took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths." (Jn 19: 40). However, it is the gospel of John we hear this morning that places great emphasis on them and gives them as his primary evidence believing that Jesus was risen rather than his body stolen or some other explanation: "He (the beloved disciple) bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed..." (Jn 20: 5-8) The resurrection is an act of faith, "hope in things not seen," (Heb 11: 1) and as John writes: "... for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead." (Jn 20: 9). Nevertheless, the scriptural account emphasizes physically seeing the evidence and being brought to belief through it. When St Paul says to the Galatians: "It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!" (Gal 3: 1), is he referring to the Shroud? In any event, we are all called to make an act of will today which places our trust in God and reaffirms his power over sin and death not only for Jesus Christ but also for us who believe in him.