A Missing Body
Easter Sunday - Luke 24:1-12
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” 8 Then they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
The women have been to the tomb before. They have had a day to reflect and plan. They have had a day to prepare all the spices that they will need to properly bury the body. All of this to be ready to deal with a dead body. And the stone which had been a possible problem has been conveniently moved. All is well with the plan. Until…there is no body.
The human made plans of the faithful, the human designed act of devotion – all of that gets wiped out by a simple action – the resurrection of Jesus. An action that Jesus had told them about, he had said he was going to die and be raised to life. He said it a number of times. But it took the angels to remind the women. God does the impossible – or at least what is in human terms impossible – and all the human-made plans go up in smoke, become irrelevant because there is no body.
The male disciples do no better than the women. They don’t believe either. And Peter who goes to have a look is just as confused and amazed as the women. They are not ready for God doing the impossible, the unimaginable.
How often does that happen to us? In human terms we make the plans, we get everything worked out, and then the Holy Spirit shows up and the things we have spent so much time fretting about become irrelevant because God takes things in an unexpected, unanticipated direction. Both the women and Peter and the others are caught off guard by God doing the unexpected. Will we let God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – do the unexpected in our lives, bringing about a future we could never imagine?
PRAYER:
God of power and might, we rejoice that you raised your Son, Jesus Christ, to life again. Shape us by this amazing gift to live in the expectation of your power breaking anew into our world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.