The Empty Tomb
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him,[a] “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,[b] and that He had spoken these things to her.
The Apostles Commissioned
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,[c] for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Seeing and Believing
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas,[d] because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
That You May Believe
30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Footnotes:
- John 20:16 NU-Text adds in Hebrew.
- John 20:18 NU-Text reads disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” . . .
- John 20:19 NU-Text omits assembled.
- John 20:29 NU-Text and M-Text omit Thomas.
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Tao Te Ching (The Way)
by Lao-tzu
translated by: J. Legge
7
Heaven is long-enduring and earth continues long. The reason
why heaven and earth are able to endure and continue thus long is
because they do not live of, or for, themselves. This is how they are
able to continue and endure.
Therefore the sage puts his own person last, and yet it is found in
the foremost place; he treats his person as if it were foreign to him,
and yet that person is preserved. Is it not because he has no
personal and private ends, that therefore such ends are realised?
~~~~~
Commentaries on the “Silver Rules”
of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan
by Pir Zia Inayat-Khan
Silver Rule 7
My conscientious self, do not make a show of your generosity.
One of the essential principles of Sufism is the insight that nothing is really random, arbitrary, and meaningless. On the contrary, everything—all of our actions, words, and thoughts—spring from the divine source. And yet in the process of manifestation divine currents working within our personality become distorted and narrowed down, so that in some cases the original impulse is seemingly lost. But it is consoling and encouraging to know that buried deep down even in our worst habits and tendencies of mind there is a pure and good intention.
Consider generosity. We are generous by nature because we belong to the divine, and divine light is essentially generous and providential; it is the wellspring from which all has sprung. But in us it has become, oftentimes, mixed up with other intentions that have to do with our concern about how we are seen in the world. We wish to maximize our good name in the eyes of everyone. Which means that we expend considerable energy speculating about other people's opinions of us and trying to improve these perceptions. And this vein of thought mixes itself up in our simple, pure, divinely-rooted generosity. The result is that the sincerity of our original generosity is compromised.
To redeem the original purity of our generous nature requires that we hold lightly our concern about other people's impressions of us. One is able to do this when one, more and more, “lives for God alone.” God beholds us in the inner depths of our own being; we need only live in that witness. Recognize that the world is filled with many vantage points—that we and everyone else are seen from various perspectives—and be at ease with this. No other person on earth sees the whole of you. Still there is a glance, radiating out of eternity that perceives all.
We have a wonderful example of this kind of generosity in our life and that is the example of the Earth itself, and the divine source of the Earth. How abundantly we are nourished, sustained, and continuously provided for with unstinting generosity. And yet the Giver makes no self-assertion, no imposition upon us. The Giver remains so hidden that we live in a world in which it has become commonplace to doubt the existence of the Giver. So thoroughly has the Giver hidden itself in the gift! This is a state of generosity that we must aspire to.
Murshid uses the expression “quiet working.” Without fanfare, render simple quiet service. Murshid uses a remarkable image in speaking about what it is to share the divine message – one must be like a person who wishes to feed the birds when the birds are timid and will not come close. You have to hide yourself and throw the crumbs. This is the opposite of making a show of one's generosity.
My conscientious self, do not make a show of your generosity.
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Father, holy is Your name in all the earth. Thank You for love, peace and joy. We are grateful for the nurture and care You provide for growth individually and collectively. Thank You we are healed and delivered by the might of Your power working in us in Jesus name, amen.
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