In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“And when they arrived to the Tomb, they looked up and noticed the huge stone was rolled away and they were frightened…”
The Tomb of Christ located in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem is visited by enormous crowds of people today and everyday just as it was visited by those three humble women we heard read about moments ago.
It was bright and early on the first Easter morning and three women were walking to the Tomb of Jesus. According to the Bible, these three women were bringing spices and oils to finish preparing His body for burial, as was the custom of the day; but when they arrived, they did not expect to see what they saw. The tomb was wide open. Someone had rolled away the huge stone that sealed the Tomb and because of that, they were frightened. “What’s going on here? Who did that?” they wondered.
Listen to what the Bible shares about this. “So the women hurried away from the Tomb afraid and confused. They ran to tell His disciples when suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ He said to them.” At first, they didn’t recognize Him, which is understandable because the last time they saw Him, His dead body was being sealed in that Tomb. “Greetings” He repeated. This time they recognized Him and turning to Him, they dropped to their knees and they praised God. Then Jesus said to them “Do not be afraid. For I have overcome the world.” Easter means many things to us Christians. It’s about the risen Lord. It’s about eternal life. Life over death. Love over hate. Good over evil. It’s about the ways of God over the ways of this world. It’s too big a miracle to mean just one thing.
Easter clearly announces that Christ is Risen! Easter means that Jesus has defeated death. Easter means that eternal life is real and forever and that all who live and believe will never die. But Easter is also about the empty Tomb. It’s about our Risen Lord rolling away the stones and obstacles of our lives. Those obstacles that try to keep us from Him and try to stop us from living the life that God has called us to live. Those things that worry us, that distract us, that disturb us, that tempt us and that turn our attention everywhere else but on Him. It’s about God helping us to live our lives without fear and following Him through the hills and valleys of life.
Easter means that there is no tomb from which God cannot free us. There is no stone too big for God to roll away. The promise of Easter is that the Resurrected Christ walked out of that Tomb, into the world, and into the lives of those who believe. The empty Tomb changed the course of the world. Its message is of eternal life and hope and a fresh start.
On the day of the resurrection, the sealed Tomb that held the lifeless body of God’s Son could not contain the power of God or the hope found in God or the love of God. That is what Easter is all about! The story of the resurrection is that fear and hate and grief and the obstacles in life do not win. The love of God wins every time, every moment, every day. The sealed Tomb could not contain the power of God or the hope of God or the love of God. That is what Easter is all about!
May you all have a very happy and beautiful Easter with your families. Christ is Risen!
Amen.