It’s NOT a competition!

We had this as part of our Easter reading in church today from John’s gospel…

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there,  and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;

Obviously, I have heard this reading many times before, and read it myself, but today I nearly fell off my chair laughing because I suddenly saw the two disciples as my two sons running to get a look.

The oldest one getting there first, he has longer legs and regularly goes running, but the youngest one is more curious by nature, he would dive in to investigate further. The older one only fully believing when he follows, seeing the empty tomb for himself.

My boys are fully grown men now, but they still love a bit of healthy competition. They will suddenly start a race to a specified point when we are out on a walk. If the competition is more cerebral, I will join in. We guessed the number of steps on our walk last time we were together – I was the last one to complete the climb and I can’t remember which of us was closest, obviously NOT me or I would have taken note!

Skimming stones on the beach

Yes, I am just as competitive, I just can’t keep up with the running, I’m not sure I ever could.

But perhaps in this instance I would be Mary saying, “I told you so, you didn’t believe me did you!”

There has been much on social media this Easter about believing the women without question. In Biblical times the women’s testimony wouldn’t have counted for much and yet Jesus appeared to them first.

The Easter story is so human and relatable despite the supernatural goings on. It’s not every day you see a resurrection. But every day there are people racing to be first, people checking out a story, people passing on the juicy gossip.

Sometimes people miss out the checking bit and pass on rubbish. Some truths, even when verified are not believed. Some competitions don’t come with a prize.

Every day we run and race and challenge each other and there is nothing wrong with that as long as we also remember to stop and help others on the way. Because when a story is so important, no one should be left behind.