Unveil the Shroud

On one of the shelves in my office I have one of those things that gives you different pictures depending on which angle it is viewed from.  In this case, lean a little to one side and it is a picture of the Shroud of Turin.  Lean a little to the other side and the face of Jesus emerges from the image imprinted on the Shroud.  The implication, of course, is that the Shroud of Turin is the shroud that covered Jesus in the tomb.  A neat special effect regardless of what one might think about the historical validity of Turin’s shroud.

The word “shroud” has been used specifically to refer to burial clothing since 1570, but more generally meaning “to hide from view, to conceal” since 1300.  The shroud is important for what it invites us to prayerfully contemplate during Lent, but the more important thing than the shroud itself is what is revealed when the shroud is lifted.  Lean a little to one side and you have one image.  Lean a little to the other and another image emerges.  In one direction is the shroud, in the other…the face of Jesus. 
 
As we come to Lent’s conclusion with Holy Week’s remembrances of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the foot washing of Maundy Thursday, and the agony of the crucifixion on Good Friday - all valuable, nay, essential, for our spiritual formation - the face of Jesus is revealed, not just in some artist’s rendering…but in us - real, alive, and deeply personal.  Now as our own Lenten shroud is about to be lifted to reveal the risen Christ beneath, we have only to decide which direction we want to lean: to keep the ecstatic joy of our Easter alleluias shrouded or in our care for those who so desperately need to receive God’s good news of the risen Christ, to lift the shroud and reveal the face of Jesus.
 
-Marc