Monday 28 March 2016

Father Ignatius Makes A Discovery


There are times when a light turns on in your head and you see something clearly for the first time and you understand something new you’d never realized before.

Father Ignatius was a studious type of person spending many hours reading the Bible as well as many books on theology, ancient history and similar subjects which would soon send any lesser head spinning wildly.

One evening he retired to the room he called “my meditation corner” and after reciting the Rosary he started reading the Bible and cross-referencing certain passages with other books to better understand what God is teaching through His Word.

One passage in particular caught his interest. After Christ’s death and burial, we are told that Mary Magdalene visited the tomb and found the stone rolled away from the entrance. She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple and told them what she had seen. Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb. When Simon Peter got in and went inside he noticed the linen wrappings lying there, but the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded and lying to the side.

There it was, in the Gospel of John Chapter 20 Verse 7.

Father Ignatius puzzled about this for a moment or two. He’d read that chapter many times and nothing specific occurred to him. But this time, as if a small voice buzzing in his head, he kept wondering the significance of what he had read.

“Why are we told that the cloth which covered Jesus’ head was folded and lying to the side? What’s so important about that?” Father Ignatius asked himself.

Yet somehow, John thought it important enough to mention it. Why?

Father Ignatius checked the other three Gospels but they did not mention this fact. “But why did John consider it so significant to point it out” he wondered silently.

After hours of searching other books and checking on ancient traditions he came upon something he’d never known before.

In ancient Hebrew tradition the folded napkin was symbolic between the master of the house and his servant.

When the servant set the dinner table he made sure that everything was perfectly set out as the master wished and then he would wait out of sight until the master finished eating.

The servant would not clear the table until the master had finished.

When the master finished his meal he would wipe his fingers and mouth with the napkin and then toss the napkin on the table.

The servant would then clear the table, because in those days a tossed napkin meant “I’ve finished.”

However … and this is the significant bit which Father Ignatius discovered for himself, if the master left the table but neatly folded the napkin and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not touch the table.

Because the folded napkin meant “I’m coming back!”



“He’s coming back …” mumbled Father Ignatius in wonderment.

That’s what John was trying to tell us in his Gospel.

19 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Victor!
    Blessings, Friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Victor! What an interesting take on the cloth that was separate. I have often wondered why that was important myself. Was it just careful reporting, or did it mean something deeper?
    That Fr. Ignatius...he really shone some light here! (wink!)
    Easter blessings,
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Ceil. I was very interested when I read about the meaning of the cloth for the first time.

      Praying for you.

      God bless you and yours.

      Delete
  3. Wow. Rich symbolism indeed, Victor.

    I can't wait til He returns ...

    ReplyDelete
  4. An interesting take on St John's Gospel, Linda.

    You can enjoy other Father Ignatius stories FREE from www.holyvisions.uk

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful post, Victor. Thanks for this gentle reminder. God bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, yes, yes, He is coming back and I expect before I go to bed tonight, or in the morning or in the evening, anytime. Great reminders of this truth.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, yes, yes, He is coming back and I expect before I go to bed tonight, or in the morning or in the evening, anytime. Great reminders of this truth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Betty,

      It's so nice to see you visiting me here. Thank you. Yes, the Lord is risen indeed.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  8. Oh my goodness, what a revelation! This blesses me more than you know. Thank you for nourishing my faith even more today, with such an incredibly powerful insight. Wow. Sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Chris,

      How nice to see you visiting me here today. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed this story. I too was very surprised when I first read the fact about the folded napkin.

      More FREE Father Ignatius stories at www.holyvisions.uk

      God bless you.

      Delete
  9. Beautiful Viktor. It is great too that we have people that ask questions so we can be enlightened by new Information.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Too true, Lynn. It was quite surprising to me to read this information for the first time.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  10. Victor, thank you for sharing. There is so much in the Bible that we miss because we are not aware of the culture and symbolism from Jesus' time.

    I've also heard another explanation for why John mentions the folded cloth. Many at the time were saying that people "stole" Jesus' body. Mentioning the folded cloth is important because if you were in a rush to steal a body, you certainly wouldn't take the time to fold up a cloth.

    God Bless you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've never thought of that, Michael. Thank you for your insight.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  11. Lord Jesus thank you for letting us know the meaning of your majesty's banquet with your saints for now you call your servants friends, since you have giving us your precious body and blood as heavenly food because your body is real bread and your blood is wine as Melquizedec gave to Your servant Abraham bread and wine after Abraham conquered his enemies; Your Father who lives in You have conquered your enemies and you have invited your servants as friends to your table and we your servants steadfast are waiting for your coming in glory in unity with your Holy Spirit. Amen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Virginia for visiting me here and for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated.

      God bless you.

      Delete

I PRAY FOR ALL WHO COMMENT HERE.

God bless you.