By Pastor Greg
 |
| Notre Dame Cathedral |
The
following day the Bishop continued his interviews. The first man to approach him said,
"Your Excellency, I am the brother of the poor armless man that fell to
his death yesterday. I pray that you
honor his life by allowing me to replace him in this duty." The Bishop agreed to give the man an
audition, and, as the armless man's brother stooped to pick up a mallet to
strike the first bell, he moaned, clutched at his chest, twirled around, and
died on the spot. It was too much. The Bishop wailed in grief. Soon, other monks arrived wondering what had
happened. Rushing up the stairs, one
monk asked, "What has happened? Who
is this man?" “I don’t know. I don't know his name," sighed the
Bishop”, but … he's a dead ringer for his brother”. [If I keep telling jokes like that, I’m the
one who will be lying in the street]
I tell you that story in hopes
that you chuckle, but I also tell you
that story because it speaks of the finality of death. Quasimodo died (at least he did in Victor
Hugo’s book), the armless man and his brother died. All that death weighed heavy on the Bishops
heart. It affected him profoundly because death is something so
tragic. I mean no one likes death. It’s a disturbing
part of life. Many of us fear
death. The separation we feel with those
who have died seems to be so permanent. I mean, no one expects to see a dead person
alive again. No one down through history
has ever looked at a dead person and said, “Just wait a couple of days; they’ll
be back.”
Not even the disciples of Jesus expected Him to come back to life. None of the men or women thought the Tomb
would be empty on Easter morning.
(John 20:1-20) Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from
the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other
disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body
out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter
and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were
both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He
stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go
in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while
the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the
other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb
first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until
then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from
the dead. 10 Then they went home. 11 Mary
was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked
in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head
and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear
woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away
my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 She
turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t
recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked
her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she
said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will
go and get him.” 16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and
cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). 17 “Don’t
cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go
find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary
Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she
gave them his message. 19 That Sunday evening the disciples
were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish
leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he
said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands
and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! [1]
The women who came to the Tomb on Easter morning were preparing to
anoint Jesus with more oil and perfume.
They wondered who might roll away the stone so they could pour more spices
on the body of Jesus (Mark 16:3). None
of these women, not Salome, Joanne, or the two Mary’s expected to see Jesus
alive again. John confesses that up
until the point when he saw the folded linen wrappings, he had no idea Jesus
would rise from the dead (verse 9). Up
until that point, no one expected to see Jesus again. He was gone.
And any hope they may have had in life was snatched away; kidnaped by
death. After all, death is something so permanent. No one comes back to life once they have permanently died.
I have stood next to more caskets
than I can remember, many of those people I deeply loved. But do you want to know a little secret? You see, Easter has taught me something. The empty tomb teaches me, and you, something about the permanence of life, not the permanence of death. When John and Peter walked into that empty
grave on Easter morning, they realized something. They realized that the body of Jesus had not
been stolen, but that Jesus had risen from the dead. Knowing this resurrected hope within their
hearts.
The author of Hebrews points out
that “Because God’s
children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and
blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break
the power of the devil, who had the power
of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have
lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying”[2]
(Hebrews 2:14-15). This is why you and I
need to fix our eyes on the empty tomb.
The empty tomb sets us free from the fear of death. It takes away its permanence.
Do you want to know why Easter is
such a special day for Christians? It’s special because the Empty Tomb
resurrects hope in our own hearts. Not
only did Jesus break the shackles of death, but
He also set hope free. His
resurrection points to our own resurrection.
One day you and I and all whom we have loved will be called forth from
the grave to life everlasting. One day, death will be swallowed up in victory.
“O death,
where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” [3]
writes Paul (1 Corinthians 15:55). For
Christ rose triumphant, setting us free from the fear of death. Since Jesus rose from the dead, all who have
died believing in Him will one day rise
again to everlasting life (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Therefore, do not fix your eyes on
your present problems and worries. Do
not focus on all that is wrong. That
will lead to fear; a loss of hope. “For our present
troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory
that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we
don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things
that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the
things we cannot see will last forever”[4] (2
Corinthians 4:17-18). Fix your eyes on
the empty tomb, for in this way hope is resurrected. Death is now no longer
something permanent. It is Life that is now permanent. This is what Easter has taught me. The empty tomb has resurrected hope.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 20:1–20). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (Heb 2:14–15). Carol Stream, IL.
[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. 1995 (1 Co 15:55).
LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living
Translation (3rd ed.) (2 Co 4:17–18). Carol Stream, IL.
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