My friend and fellow Touchstone senior editor Patrick Henry Reardon wrote something that prompted me to shut down my computer and pray.
In his "Pastoral Ponderings" email, Reardon noted the Apostle John's
mention in his resurrection account that the kerchief which had been on
Jesus' face "not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place
by itself" (John 20:7). Reardon writes:
"That instant of the Resurrection of Jesus was the most
decisive moment in the history of the world. It was the event of
deepest importance for every human being who ever lived. It was the
supreme kairos. The Law and the Prophets were fulfilled in that moment, and the existence of the human race took on an utterly new meaning.
"What, however, was the first thing Jesus did when the Resurrection
life came surging into His body? The simplest and plainest thing
imaginable: He reached up, pulled the kerchief from His face, folded
it, and set it aside, as though it had been a napkin used at breakfast."
Reardon concludes by writing this:
"The universal Christ, the eternal Word in whom all
things subsist, was still the same Jesus, to whom an act of elementary
neatness came naturally. He spontaneously did what He would likely have
done in any case, much as another man might unconsciously scratch his
ear, or yet another look around for a stick to whack the weeds with as
he walked along.
"The risen Lord was the same Jesus His friends had always known. He
had just returned from the realm of hell, where He trampled down death
by death. He was on the point of going forth as a giant to run His
course. He was about to begin appearing to His disciples, providing
them with many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days,
and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
"Nonetheless, He was still the same person, whose instinctive habits
remained identical. First, He took a moment to fold the kerchief He had
used, and only then did He stride out to change the direction of
history and transform the lives of human beings."
I'm not sure I've ever given any thought to the face kerchief in
that empty tomb before. But this word prompted me to pray, and to thank
God for a Messiah who is not just Christ but Jesus. He is a Person, with practices and habits. He can be known.
Praise God for the Christ of the folded napkin.
Yes, Dr. Moore. That struck me as well – wonderful meditation.
Kamilla
I heard a homily once, in which the priest (Fr. Richard Veras) said that when St. John saw the folded napkin, “he believed.” What did he believe and why did the folded napkin cause him to believe? He had spent three years at Jesus’ side, and had seen Jesus fold items before — he would be familiar with the particular way in which Jesus folded his bedding or other linens he used. So, when the Gospel tells us that he saw the folded napkin and believed, we can imagine that he was able to discern exactly who had folded it.
I have heard several attempts to connect the folded napkin to John’s belief, or other things of high and hidden significance. Myself, I have always taken the observation of the folded napkin as a simple sign that Jesus’s mom taught him how to make up his bed when he was a small boy.
I find that sometimes the simplest observations, such as this one that the folding of the kercheif points to Christ’s humanity, are the most difficult to see. It really is an amazing observation and I hope that Fr Patrick wouldn’t mind if I used it in a sermon one of these days.
Another interpretation of the folded napkin was that a folded napkin was a signal to the servants at a Jewish table, that the one who sat at that place was not finished, but had left temporarily, but was coming back, whereas a crumpled napkin communicated that the person was not coming back.
If that is correct, Jesus was saying, ‘I will return.’
“And then, I will eat my shroud! Piece by piece! With gravy!” :)
Seriously, the napkin signal if true is a very interesting point. Thank you.
I have to say, the way this passage was translated in my Bible, I always thought of “rolled up by itself in the corner” as meaning that it was wadded up and pitched there. Your suggestions are much more fitting to the Logos. :)
I have just read an argument on the possibility that the “beloved Disciple” was Lazarus, and thus also the author of the fourth Gospel (though the one does not necessarily flow from the other). This idea does make sense out of some things, especially Peter’s question, “Lord, what about thus man?”. There are problems with this idea, not least in the patristic evidence, but in investigating the plausibility of it I was struck by the account of Lazarus’ raising and the mention of the head cloth. What if the import of the folded cloth came also from Lazarus’ firsthand remembrance of waking up with that cloth on his head?
I forgot how exactly the Evangelist identifies himself with the beloved disciple. So that raises one more difficulty.
But regardless, it does nothing to change the idea that Lazarus’ raising would have been in the mind of the Evangelist when he saw the head cloth, for surely Lazarus would have told and retold his experience upon waking up. His witness was a major attraction that whole week previous.