"He is not here."
Category: Faith...
Posted Wednesday, March 23, 2005 at 07:34 AM [GMT-6]

The Gazette will be on holiday (as Rachel would say) for the next five days as we enjoy the beauty of God's creation as it's gloriously manifested in the Texas Hill Country. So I want to leave you with an early Easter greeting, and my wishes that you and your family will have a safe, healthy and blessed time.

I also hope that you'll find the time to contemplate the incredible implications of the brief phrase that comprises this post's title: "He is not here."

Those words were spoken by a celestial being to two grief-stricken women who made an early morning visit to a hewn rock tomb outside of Jerusalem two centuries ago. They were seeking to honor their friend, their teacher, their Lord, who, three days earlier, had been tried in a kangaroo court, sentenced to die, beaten and humiliated and finally hung on a wooden cross in a shameful and painful death. This was a tragic end to a life and a cause that seemingly carried all the hope in the world; now all they could do is mourn over his body, and wonder what went wrong.

Although...they also recalled that he kept talking about this being just a temporary situation. He spoke cryptically about the Temple being rebuilt in three days, and how all of this was predicted by the prophets of old. And then there was that thing with Lazarus. Still, they'd seen his torn body, with no spark of life, so their hope was tempered by their human skepticism as they approached the tomb.

But something was amiss...the huge stone that was rolled across the mouth of the tomb was no longer covering it. And where were the guards? And who was this...this...man?...being?...with a countenance so bright as to be blinding? The women trembled, with fear and expectation, and the words he spoke cut right through their hearts and their doubts:

"He is not here; he has risen."

And life changed...for eternity. For all of us. For each of us.

What will you do with this gift, this miracle?

Blessings and peace to you and yours in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was dead and buried but now lives!

Passage from Matthew 28. Read the whole thing!

Technorati tags: Easter | Christianity