Seeing And Believing

 

 

 John 20:1a and 2-8

The Empty Tomb

1 On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene² came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

Isn't it strange that having just celebrated the birth of Jesus with as much joy and splendor as we could muster, we are now at his empty tomb? We have gone the full cycle in three days! Jesus was born for a mission, and we are quickly drawn to it as we read of his conquest over death. Yes, his coming was not simply to take on our human flesh, but to give us the opportunity to have eternal life.  The empty tomb shows us the completed mission of the Babe born in Bethlehem, and the course our lives can, should, and even must take: to be born and raised to eternal life with Jesus. Thus there is continued and deeper cause for Christmas joy as we celebrate the possibility of our birth into this final state. 

Bro. Rene

Dear God, help us to see our destiny clearly and believe it is possible for us to achieve. Amen