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“Sunday: He Has Been Raised; He
is not Here” |
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The week was pretty exciting – and scary –
all at the same time. Last Sunday, Jesus staged a political demonstration by
riding on a donkey into Jerusalem. It was a kind of counter-parade to one the
Roman governor and the wealthy and the politically elite had on the other side
of the city. On Monday, Jesus went to the temple and created enough chaos to
temporarily shut down the temple. On Tuesday, Jesus returned to the temple,
preached and taught openly to the crowds, and in a confrontation, made the
temple rulers look pretty foolish. On Wednesday, the temple rulers decided that
they could not arrest Jesus because he was so popular that his arrest might
start a riot. And then, that same day, Judas volunteered to betray Jesus to
them. On Thursday, Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with the disciples, and
he gave bread and wine a new meaning. He called them his body and his blood.
Sometime that night, Jesus was arrested. On Friday, the day after Passover, everything changed. It was the day that Jesus was executed as a rebel – a subversive threat to Roman law and order – executed by the Roman governor. In the evening, as the sun was going down, Joseph of Arimathea asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate released Jesus’ body so that he could be buried. The day ended with a death shroud – and in the terrible silence of a tomb. Mark tells us nothing about the Sabbath. It is a day of silence. Eight years ago, I went to Israel. Among my reasons were to see the two places that church tradition has identified as the tomb in which Jesus’ body was buried. On one day, I walked from the Damascus gate of the old city of Jerusalem to the garden tomb. Today, at daybreak, nine or ten hours ago, hundreds of visitors began gathering there. Over the last eight hours, there were six worship services conducted in six different languages. Why did they come to the garden? “In 1882 General Gordon, a British soldier and Bible student … was convinced that this was (near) the spot he identified as Golgotha (or the ‘place of the skull’) … A two-chambered tomb has been found on the property, although archeologists believe that it was made much earlier than the first century AD and would not have been considered a new tomb at Jesus’ death.” (Alison Hilliard and Betty Jane Bailey, Living Stones Pilgrimage with the Christians of the Holy Land, 1999, p. 44) Many Protestants believe that this was Jesus’ tomb. When it was opened, it was empty. The day I was there, I sat in the cool shade of the garden on a bench facing the tomb. I got out my sketchpad and pencils, and drew an image of the tomb. After a while, a church choir from New Orleans, Louisiana, came into the garden, gathered in the shade near where I was sitting, and began to sing gospel spirituals. One or two at a time stopped singing, walked over to the tomb, entered, stayed for a few moments, and then returned to the choir to sing. I just sat and enjoyed the music, the cool breeze blowing through the shade, and the solitude that is characteristic of the place. At last, it was time for one final choir member to enter the tomb. She stepped through the tiny doorway and into the darkness. A minute or two passed. Suddenly, she came running out of the tomb with a big, bright smile on her face, and she shouted: “Praise God!!! He isn’t here!” It startled me and then it touched me deeply. On another day, I walked the crowded streets of the Old City of Jerusalem. I was retracing Jesus’ journey through holy week. On that day, I ended up at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Why did I go there? This site, too, has been identified as Jesus’ last resting place. Its tradition is much older. This place was identified by Helena, the mother of Constantine, Emperor of the Roman Empire, in 326 AD when she visited the Holy Land. A church called the Church of the Resurrection was built on that site in 348, “and also marked the site where Queen Helena claimed to have found the cross (of Jesus) … in an underground cave.” (Hilliard and Bailey, 1999, pp. 43-44) None of Queen Helena’s church remains. Conquests, earthquakes, and fires have made sure of that. But with each destruction, a new church was built on the same site. Archeologists believe that this spot is more authentic than the garden tomb. Just inside the doorway of this ancient church is a sixteen-foot stairway to the top of a rock that Helena identified as the summit of Golgotha. There is even a slab of exposed rock worn smooth by pilgrim rubbings, touches, kisses, and tears. Helena identified it as the actual place where Jesus’ cross stood. I entered the extravagantly ornate rotunda of the church building. At its center is the Holy Sepulchre. The line was long as pilgrims from all over the world waited their turn to enter. As I waited in line, I met young men from the United States, families from Italy, and an older man from India. At last, it was my turn. I stooped to enter the low doorway into the tomb. In it were fragrant flowers, lit candles, and a bare slab of marble where Jesus might have been laid. It is small and intimate with only room for four pilgrims at a time. I squatted to pray and take in the scene. A priest stood watch to make sure that one does not stay too long and that no one desecrates this holy place. There is such a distinct contrast between these two tombs. And yet, I was spiritually and emotionally moved by both of them. In fact, I visited both of them twice. My visits made one thing clear: It doesn’t matter whether you believe that Jesus was buried in the garden tomb – or that Jesus was buried in the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – or that Jesus was buried in some other tomb never identified. What is most important of all is that Jesus is not in any tomb! Hear me clearly: Jesus is not in any tomb! Do you remember the words of the choir member from New Orleans? “Praise God! He isn’t here!” [Repeat the words with me: “Praise God! He isn’t here!”] Each gospel tells the story a little differently, but there is one thing that is the same about all four: “Praise God! He isn’t here!” The powerful imperial and religious forces of Jesus’ time could not tolerate Jesus’ message of political and personal transformation. His voice on behalf of the poor and the broken and the disenfranchised was too threatening. They said “no” to God’s kingdom of equality and love by crucifying Jesus. They killed him and put his body in a grave and rolled a heavy stone over it thinking that was the end of it. It wasn’t. On Easter morning, God answered the evil of the cross with something else. What did the woman from New Orleans say? “Praise God! He isn’t here!” On this morning, there is something to say. “Jesus lives. He continues to be experienced after his death, though in a radically new way. He is no longer flesh and blood, confined to time and space, but a reality who can enter locked rooms, journey with followers without being recognized, be experienced in both Galilee and Jerusalem, vanish in the moment of recognition, and abide with his followers always, ‘to the end of the age’.” (Borg and Crossan, 2006, p.204) I have looked into the Garden Tomb and I tell you: it is empty! I have looked into the holy sepulcher and I tell you: it is empty! And we, who have looked into the tomb and see that it is empty, have a joyful opportunity. We can make this a proclamation of joy! “Praise God! He isn’t here!” That is what we do know. Is that enough for you? Let us pray. Thank you, O God, for not letting Jesus’ death be the end – but rather the beginning of all else that truly matters. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. |