There is not a lot of running in the gospels: the pace is rather more exploratory, leading from Galilee to Jerusalem where the drama of redemption is to be played out. This journey could not be rushed because there is much to learn on the way.
But when people do run, it’s a sign that something profound and significant is happening.
In the gospel of Mark, when Jesus gets out of the boat on the far side of the sea of Galilee, in the land of the Gerasenes, a man possessed by mental illness sees him and runs directly towards a person he instinctively knows will engage with his torment.And when Luke recounts the story of the prodigal son, it is the elderly father who runs towards the boy he thought he’d lost, in order to welcome him back to life.
Matthew and Mark both note that as Jesus is about to die, someone runs to get him a drink of vinegar, so that one final detail of the Old Testament could be fulfilled: ‘And when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink’ (Ps 69.21).
In his Easter day message from @ChiCathedral
Bishop Martin Warner encouraged us to introduce our family, our friends, this generation into the peace and the joy that Jesus Christ promises all people and especially those, in Gaza and Israel and Ukraine. https://t.co/3bxJEYsdur pic.twitter.com/NYHKZcq3jp— Chichester Diocese (@ChichesterDio) April 1, 2024