Our Blog this month has been written by Andy Haines

 

Well, Easter has come and gone and if we reflect back, we remember the hot Cross buns and the Easter eggs, but do we really remember the journey Jesus took in that last week leading to His crucifixion? Perhaps the fact is that we tend to gloss over the real details in the rush to get to the Resurrection.

 

On holiday last year we visited a small fishing port on the Adriatic, and chanced upon a church which had been given over to an exhibition about the Shroud of Turin; The Mystery Man.

 

Among other things on display they had a flail, as would have been used to inflict penetrating small cuts, spears used by Roman soldiers and a crown of thorns made from blackthorn, with long hard spikes. Through forensic study and mapping they had matched up the actions graphically outlined in the gospels to the marks on the shroud and then to Jesus‘s body.

 

The final exhibit, in a room all of its own and the centre piece of the exhibition, was a full-sized representation of Christ’s naked body, with all the lacerations inflicted upon it as translated from the shroud. It was shocking. I can’t begin to describe my emotions as I observed the scene laid before me. Maybe one of anger or embarrassment for what had been done to Him. However, the most abiding memory, even now, is how visceral and real it felt, to truly understand the depth of His suffering upon the cross.

 

Whatever we think about the enigma of the Shroud of Turin, as we sit back wallowing in excess cocoa and dough, do we really give enough credence to the pain and suffering Jesus truly endured for us? Think again…

 

The Mystery Man Exhibition – The Mystery Man

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