In the movie The Green Mile, a prison cell block captain (Tom Hanks) is assaulted by a huge prisoner on death row. At the end of the frightening embrace, Hanks finds he’s been healed from a severe bladder infection. The prisoner proves to be a gentle giant. For almost all his life, he was given a burdensome gift to carry the weight of others’ pain and disease. With it, he brings justice to wrongdoers, heals cancer, and even raises the dead. Yet, in the end, the wrongly accused prisoner is executed.
The Green Mile is a gospel story. The condemned prisoner, like Christ, brings new life to startled, hurting people amidst their terrible and even evil circumstances.
On the evening of the resurrection, Luke tells us two disciples walked to Emmaus. Grieving the events of the past days, they meet a stranger. Their hearts burn as the stranger asks about their sadness and offers an interpretation with scriptures that makes sense from the nonsense. Their eyes are amazed when the stranger breaks bread and they now recognize it is the Risen Christ.
That gospel story of amazement and healing can be our story too. Healing embrace. Justice meted out. Lives mended. Forgiveness found. Mercy offered. Love kindled. Hope grown. Dead raised. It is good news that we both proclaim and live. The Risen Christ surprises us with presence and we are healed.
-- Pastor Wetzel
