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(1Jn.1:1-4;\xa0\xa0 Ps.97:1-2,5-6,11-12;\xa0\xa0 Jn.20:2-8) \xa0 \u201cHe saw and believed.\u201d \xa0 And \u201cthe eternal life that was present to the Father and became visible to us,\u201d which John now proclaims, is Jesus Christ the only Son of God, risen from the dead and present to us now even as He sits with the Father. John has seen Him.\xa0 He has believed in Him.\xa0 His \u201chands have touched\u201d Him and so he \u201cproclaim[s] the word of life\u201d made so real in his midst.\xa0 What else could he do but declare that which burns in his heart?\xa0 What else could be the Evangelist\u2019s desire but to share the blessing he has known as \u201cthe one Jesus loved\u201d? \xa0For brimming with love this apostle is, and only in writing of this joy, only proclaiming it to the world and seeing others enter into such selfsame blessing will make his joy complete.\xa0 To this he has been called by the Lord. \u201cLight dawns for the just,\u201d David declares, as if in his psalm to presage the coming of Christ and John\u2019s own words on the coming of Light to this earth.\xa0 And indeed the just shall see Him, and gladness shall be \u201cfor the upright of heart.\u201d\xa0 For all the just shall \u201cbe glad in the Lord\u2026 and give thanks to His holy name,\u201d for their souls drink deeply of the salvation in their midst; they know Him whom their hearts love.\xa0 They see Him, and believe. And I note the special significance \u201cthe piece of cloth which had covered the head\u201d of Jesus \u2013 which was \u201cnot lying with the wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself,\u201d as John tells us in his gospel \u2013 seems to have as a catalyst to belief.\xa0 John had seen the wrappings before entering the tomb, but not this cloth, and it is when he enters he sees and believes.\xa0 It is as if the Lord left it neatly rolled up in a place by itself to indicate to them that He had not \u201cbeen taken from the tomb\u201d by robbers, as Mary Magdalene (another beloved of Christ) seems to fear.\xa0 Why would a thief take time to do such a thing?\xa0 And so, Jesus\u2019 touch is upon the cloth. \u201cAll peoples see His glory\u201d now, brothers and sisters.\xa0 By the witness of John and all the apostles, eyes are opened to His presence.\xa0 Let us see Him with John; let us touch Him\u2026 and let us know His touch upon our hearts, and so continue to proclaim His glory. \xa0 Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by James Kurt. \xa0 Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. \xa0 ******* O LORD, let us rejoice in the presence of your Christ with us this day.\xa0 YHWH, let all men see your glory in the presence of your risen Son.\xa0 Let all men come to that glory through faith in Him.\xa0 Let us hear and believe what John tells us \u2013 that He has walked among us in the flesh, that the apostles\u2019 hands have touched Him\u2026 that our hearts might be touched by His presence, and so your own. With our eyes let us look upon your glory, LORD, we who are so blinded by sin and slow of heart to believe.\xa0 Let us run to the tomb with your apostles that we may see your Son has been raised from the dead, that death no longer has dominion over us but with Him we have been raised.\xa0 Let us rejoice at the light that dawns in our midst. You are king over all the earth, LORD, and all the heavens proclaim your justice and your truth.\xa0 May we join in the choir of your angels and your holy apostles in declaring your glory to the ends of the earth, that all men might be loved by you as was John.