The story is told that Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Watson once went camping. In the middle of the night, Holmes
woke up Watson and said, “Watson, look up, and see the stars. What do you
deduce from that?”
“Well,” said Watson, “There are so
many of them—billions, to be sure. Some of those stars must be like our sun.
And some of those must have planets revolving around them. And some of those
planets must be hospitable for life. And some of those planets hospitable for
life must have life on them. So I deduce that we are not alone in the
universe.”
“You missed the main point!” said
Sherlock. “From the fact that we can see the stars, we can deduce that someone has taken our tent!”
Sometimes it’s easy for us, like
Holmes, to notice all kinds of things that are beside the point…things that are
true, and worthy of reflection—but things that miss the main point.
Consider today’s gospel lesson. It
begins with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking the Lord’s lifeless body
from the tree and, with the women, quickly preparing it for burial in Joseph’s
tomb. It ends with the angel, and the women running away from the tomb in fear
and amazement.
It is worth reflecting on the
courage of Joseph and Nicodemus who, when all the apostles had run away, did
what they could to honor one who, to all appearances, could show no kindness
back to them. They carried a body, a corpse, to its final resting place.
It is worth reflecting on the deep
love the myrrh-bearing women had for their Lord. Like Joseph and Nicodemus,
they stayed with Christ when all hope had died. They alone, of all his
followers, showed him love when love no longer seemed to have a point. They
prepared his body and, after keeping the Sabbath, they went with spices to
finish the job they had started on Friday afternoon.
Both of these are important. But
neither of them is the central point of the text. The main point is not in what
we see here, but in what we don’t
see. Remember the Lord’s body, so lovingly taken down from the tree, prepared
for burial and laid in the tomb, and made secure with a giant stone?
Well, THE BODY IS GONE. THE TOMB IS
EMPTY. And that’s the main point of our text. Hear the words of the angels: “Do
not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He has risen, He
is not here; see the place where they laid Him.”
The tomb is empty. On that fact, all
agreed: the women, the disciples—even the enemies of Christ agreed. When, a
scant fifty three days after his crucifixion the disciples proclaimed him
risen, it would have ended everything if the rulers had simply produced the
body. But they could not. What happened?
Police who investigate crimes look
for three things: motive, method, and opportunity. Some may say the disciples
had a motive—though it’s hard to imagine pious Jews wanting to steal any body,
much less their honored rabbi’s. But they had no method, and no opportunity,
because the grave was guarded by Roman soldiers, and they themselves were in
shock, scarcely able to plan anything.
And the enemies of Christ had no
motive. They wanted him gone, once and for all. They even set a guard over the
tomb.
The tomb is empty because, dear
friends, Christ is risen from the dead,
just as he said. As the angel said, “Go, tell his disciples and Peter that
he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.”
Because he is risen, the courage of
Joseph and Nicodemus…the love shown by the myrrh-bearing women…indeed, all the things done for Christ’s sake
from that day to this will never be forgotten. He is risen, and so the least
thing we do in his service—even a cup of cold water—will be remembered by him
in his Kingdom. So Paul could tell the Corinthians, “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not
in vain.”
Because he is risen, the fear of the
disciples—yes, and even the rebellion of his enemies—will not have the last
word. Did you notice that today’s epistle concludes by saying, “A great number
of the priests became obedient to the faith”? So if you struggle against your
sin…if you fall…you need not despair. For he who died for love of you did not
remain in death. He has redeemed you by his precious blood; he has overcome
death and sin, the devil and the grave. Come to the tomb. See the stone, rolled
away and useless. “Wherefore, O Women Disciples, do ye mingle sweet-smelling
spices with your tears of pity? “The radiant Angel within the sepulcher cried
unto the Myrrh-bearing Women: Behold the grave, and understand; for the Savior
is risen from the tomb.” And so we rejoice today, for Christ is risen!
