Because the Tomb is Empty

To me, Easter is the happiest of holidays. Those who loved Jesus had seen him endure a slow and agonizing death on the cross. When He was placed into the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, their  hope was buried with Him. Grief and despair consumed them.  But then came that glorious morning when the women came to anoint Jesus’ body and He was gone! The tomb was empty. Amazement and confusion gave way to joy, awe, and excitement. The women had to run and tell others. Hope, gladness and wonder rushed full force to fill their hearts.  Death is not the end. Jesus is not dead but alive and because of Him, those of us who believe and love Him will live forever.

One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written is “The Holy City” by F. E. Weatherly and Stephen Adams. The song begins with the shadow of a cross upon a lonely hill. But then it ends in victory as the writer sees that the long night is over and in the new Jerusalem there is no need for sun nor moon because the light of God is in its streets.

That is why we  Christians rejoice today. Jesus died but he arose and the sunlight of a  new day dawns within our lives. Our Savior lives!

Children accept the fact that Jesus died but is alive. They listen to the Easter story and although they might not understand (can any of us understand the love of God?) they believe. As the first women at the tomb gladly spread the news that Jesus is risen, we have the responsibility and joy of instilling that truth within our children.  They will  color and hunt for eggs today but the reason for the celebration began more than two thousand years ago with an empty tomb.

When my mother was a little girl, the Latty family  lived on a farm far from town. That didn’t mean they did not know about Easter. They knew! And they found a special way to celebrate that she remembered even many years later. Eggs were plentiful on the Latty farm so for days before Easter, they saved eggshells. Ma Latty fried eggs for every breakfast and she was careful to break the shells in half.  After the shells were washed and dried, the children gently colored them with crayons. They didn’t have food dye and coloring without pushing so hard the shell broke was a tricky business. After the shells were colored, they pasted strips of paper across for handles and lo and behold! tiny baskets. Ma popped corn to fill those baskets. There was a hawthorne  tree near the house in an area Pappy had cleared just before Easter. Aunt Alice, the oldest and tallest of the children, hung those egg baskets on the thorns of that small tree. The Latty children had invited their neighbor children for an egg hunt. Grown-ups had hidden boiled eggs and the youngsters hunted for them (this was nearly a hundred years ago!) as youngsters hunt for them today. After the hunt,  the children sat down on the ground, Aunt Alice distributed the popcorn-filled eggshell baskets and everyone ate.

Today bells will ring the good news across our land. Sermons will be preached and songs will be sung. Families will gather for large meals and children will hunt for eggs. But beneath, around, and above all the celebration is the fact of that empty tomb and a risen Savior who brings hope to those of us who love Him and believe.