Indeed, all the traces of that death,
as well as of the former life, make us more vividly conscious of the
great change that the life-giving call of God has produced in us, and
call for the most heartfelt gratitude.
And as the Savior was the same person in the days of His resurrection,
so His life was also again of course a vigorous and active life;
indeed, we might almost say it bore the traces of humanity, without
which it could be no image of our new life, even in this, that it
gradually grew stronger and acquired new powers. When the Savior first
appeared to Mary, He said, as if His new life had been, as it were,
timid and sensitive, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my
God and your God." But after a few days He showed Himself to Thomas,
and bade him boldly touch Him, put his hand in the Master's side, and
his fingers into the marks left by the nails of the cross, so that He
did not shrink from being touched even on the most sensitive spots.
And also even in the earliest days, and as if the new life were to be
fully strengthened by doing so, we find Him walking from Jerusalem to
Emmaus, and from Emmaus back to Jerusalem, as well as going before His
disciples into Galilee, and leading them back to Jerusalem, where He
then ascended to heaven in their sight.
Pages:
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205