Ok, now I am having fun. I am talking this morning about the “three promises” of Easter.
Like a good old Seinfeld rerun on TV – you might say this is about “nothingness”…or at least emptiness.
The first promise had to do with the “empty” cross. There was no one there. The cross remained empty, silhouetting against the morning sky.
Early on the first day of the week, the women, who were some of Jesus’ closest of followers, went to the tomb.
Theirs was important work to do. It was usually the work of the immediate family, the next of kin – the closest to the deceased. The task before them was a sad one…a hard one…and, a difficult one.
They were going to anoint the body of Jesus. It was a solemn, sacred, holy act.
The first “empty promise” of Easter was the empty cross – it was filled with the promise of the forgiveness of sins…but that was 6 A.M.
We don’t trust promises today. It seems that everybody is promising us something…and most of them, do not follow through. Their word is not good. Their promise is worthless. When it comes to promises, we can be pretty skeptical today – and rightfully so…
No one wants to be sold a bill of goods.
So, the ladies are going to the tomb. Obviously, the big question of the morning was, “Who will move the stone for us?” It would be an immense undertaking.
Quite obviously, they were not capable of doing it. The stone placed in front of the tomb would have been huge, an extremely large boulder, perhaps weighing upwards of two ton.
Besides that the Romans had sealed the tomb. No one was allowed to go near the tomb without their permission and their consent. A guard had been posted. The official seal could not be broken. Perhaps the entire trip was one in vain. Maybe they should just pack it in – and return back home…and call it a day.
But their devotion, their love, their concern for their master and friend – led them on.
Surely the guard would take pity on them…and at very least, listen to them…and hear them out…they were women, after all.
When they got there…the stone had already been rolled away. (The Gospel writer Luke offers us no explanation!)
They were met by a messenger of God who told them, “Do not be afraid: for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen!”
The tomb was empty. There was only nothingness. Literally no body. Empty. No one inside. Dark. Dank. Empty.
Long before Aaron Rodgers told the entire Green Bay Packer-nation to “relax” – God told his children to “relax” – I’ve got this!
The empty tomb offers to each and every one of us, the promise that we too, will be raised to eternal life. Just as Jesus was… Which of course, prompted early Christian writers to write, “Oh death, where is your sting?”
All of which leads me very nicely into a story about a dad and a son riding in the car out in the country. Windows down, tunes cranked, checking out the sites and the sounds. When all of a sudden a bee flew into the car, through the open window. It would not go out.
The little boy began to panic as the bee buzzed all around the inside of the car. He was extremely allergic to bee stings.
All of a sudden his dad reached out and caught the bee in his cupped hand. Again the boy began to panic as a look of horror came over his face. The father reached over to the son, and released the bee…and said it can’t hurt anyone any more… “I took the sting.” There in his palm was the lone stinger.
I tell ya, the empty tomb is God’s way of saying to us, “Relax, I took the sting, death can’t hurt you anymore.”I’ve got this!
Why was the tomb empty? Because Jesus was alive. He was not dead.
As the angel had said, “He is risen.”
That would be Easter promise number two.
So, I am going to go with God on this one, relax, have faith, trust in Him and see you on the other side.
I like this, how do you depict an empty tomb?
You don’t…
It is empty.
Enough said.
Amen.