Easter 3 26th of April. Matthew 28:8
Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.
The clutching of the feet is interesting.
For one thing it tells us the posture of the disciples.They must have been pretty much prostate on the ground which explains why Jesus says “Do not be afraid”.
But feet this is not the only place where feet are given a lot of attention.
It wasn’t that long ago, in fact it was only a matter of weeks when Jesus washed his disciples feet. I guess he could have chosen to shampoo the disciples hair, or wash their hands, but no it’s the feet that got all the attention. Largely because it was the custom that host would wash the guests feet anyway, but the point was that washing another feet is not a nice job. The message was that you do the yuckiest stuff for the people who you know will let you down or will disappoint you.. So feet are the place where service and humility are demonstrated.
Feet are also the place of intimacy and anointing.
Remember the unfashionable woman who came to the fashionable dinner party? Jesus feet got a lot of attention.
Jesus feet are also the place of piercing. The part of the body that had nails smashed through them. These puncture wounds are Jesus exhibit A to prove his love for us. When Thomas is shown the hands and feet it is living proof of what and who it is that stands before him. Who it is that invites him still to come closer and engage with the mystery and wonder of the resurrection of the Master.
10 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’
Question… Where did Jesus go between this encounter with the disciples and ….catching up with everyone in Galilee.
Let me offer a couple of wild, out there theories.
1. Caught up with mum. There are several different people Jesus catches up with after his resurrection. The disciples on the road to Emmaus. The fishing party which provides breakfast for the disciples. Appearing to Thomas and the 10 locked in fear in the upper room. But one person is missing. One very significant person is not listed anywhere. And that person is Jesus mother Mary. I strongly suspect that she did encounter the her risen Son. If our loving relationships continue beyond the grave, then I believe it is certain that Mother and Son met again. But the event is not recorded for us. There are some things that are very personal and are not for publication to a wider audience and the nature of the encounter between mother and son is one of those meetings. What passes between them is not for us to know or speculate. It belongs purely between the two of them.
2. What if the Risen Christ went off had had a quiet word of reassurance and with Judas? There are things that I am sure that Jesus would like to say to Judas and there are probably things that Judas needed to say to Jesus. Even if Judas was ashamed and didn’t want to, he would still need to. It would have been a difficult conversation and I reckon there would have been tears. Tears of sorrow and shame on Judas part and tears of love on Jesus cheeks. Eventually there might even have been tears of joy and reconciliation. Yes there would have been much to sort out between Jesus and Judas. Quite a bit of homework I suspect, but not insurmountable. Just a lot of hard slog which is also true of you and I.
And 3, what if the Risen christ caught up with Pilate. Not to reprimand or berate, but to say “Well done. I know you tried really hard and you did really well. Do you understand that it was just part of the big picture? Lets sit down here and I will fill you in why it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die. Do you see now?”
I began with some mutterings about feet and how they recur frequently in the good book and I finished with where the feet of the risen Christ might have taken him after his resurrection.
My question is where does our Lord want your feet to go this week. Who does he want you to contact? It might be someone you care deeply about. It might be a tricky conversation of reconciliation, or it might be a sharing of information, like Pilate. And perhaps somewhere in the quiet of “Stay at home’ we might also come to realise that the Risen Master has also come to visit us.