Good Friday 11.15am

Friday
11:15am

The robe

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says, ‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my tunic they cast lots.’ And that is what the soldiers did. (John 19: 23-25)

The Greek is helpful here. The word translated as ‘clothes’ means ‘the undergarments’. But the word translated as ‘tunic’ is khiton, a tunic or coat, an outer garment. The robe has been the subject of devotion and legend. It featured in the 1953 film The Robe with Richard Burton and Jean Simmons, and the strongest tradition is that it was discovered by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, in 327 or 328 and was given to the monastery at Trier, where it remains. Other robes are also said to exist. The most important thing however is not the object but the faith and devotion it engenders.

And the clock kept ticking.