Truth is something that we are uncomfortable with in our society nowadays. We are happy with each of us having our own, personal, individual truth – but many think THE TRUTH is only for fundamentalists to talk about.
I'm all for allowing personal choice, but I think as Christians we need to stand up for the fact there is TRUTH. Of course, we are not the only ones in possession of truth – but as we come to Easter, and the resurrection of Jesus, we are celebrating something that is amazing and true.
Gautama Buddha, Guru Nanak, the prophet Mohammed - you can visit the tombs of the founders of all the great world religions except one. Or rather, you can visit his tomb, but it’s conspicuously empty. It's the truth that Jesus’ body WAS NOT THERE which Christians all over the world celebrate at Easter.
When a group of women disciples visited the tomb of Jesus on the third day after his death, they were surprised to find the huge stone at its entrance rolled back. They were even more surprised to discover a ‘young man in white robes’ sitting inside it. The third surprise - the greatest of them all - was what he told them. ‘You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified’, he said. ‘He is not here; he is risen.’
The women had come to anoint a corpse, but instead they were to celebrate a new life. 'Go and tell his disciples'. Nothing could more powerfully express the heart of the Easter message than those simple but life-changing words: ‘Not here.’
Rather like those women, at Easter many of us go to the cemetery or the crematorium as an act of love, to leave some flowers and perhaps say a prayer at the grave of a loved one. But in our heart of hearts we know that they are not there. They have ‘gone’ - but where?
According to the apostle Paul, they have ‘departed to be with Christ, which is far better’. Perhaps the very best notice for the gates of a churchyard would be those simple words: ‘They are not here. They are risen’ - seven words that speak the heart of the Easter faith, for what was true of Jesus is true for all those whose faith is in the risen Saviour.
That - not hot cross buns, chocolate rabbits or Easter Eggs - is what Easter is all about. Death -- the Final Enemy has been defeated.
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