The Voice at the Grave II

Part two of 'The Voice at the Grave:"

“Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightening and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.”

Matthew 28:1-7

On that day, the women gathered up spices to prepare the body of the Lord that had loved them so much… loved them enough to notice them and to ascribe value and worth to them, even in their failings. Imagine the deep wells of pain and suffering that were within their hearts as they slowly walked to his resting place. The precious Son of God, beaten and spat upon, now slain… buried without dignity in a tomb covered by an immovable stone. A grave. Unmarked. Unadorned.

At the place of the greatest injustice the world has ever known – the grave of the crucified Christ – where only anguish, misery, and an unceasing desolation should reside… the most remarkable thing occurs. A voice is heard. It does not mourn, it does not weep, it does not ask, “God, how could you have allowed this to happen?” But instead, it rings out into the broken earth: “Fear not! He is not dead! He does not reside in this grave! He is risen! Now go, tell others!”

The voice at the grave of Jesus proclaimed hope, freedom, and power where only anguish, misery, and desolation should have been: Jesus has overcome. Now go… tell the world.

This should be a message of hope to us, especially when we stand on the brink of darkness. As we follow Jesus, there are times when we are led to the grave…we may witness the utter hopelessness of the world. We may witness the desperation of the poor and the meek, the least of these – and we may wonder how light could ever break through into these places. But as we draw closer and closer, the still voice of: “Child, what are you going to do about this?” pierces the darkness. It isn’t a voice of condemnation or one meant to guilt us into action – rather it is a joyful proclamation! For Christ has overcome! He awoke from death wielding the power to bring light and life and hope to the world, and in an act of grace, he hands us that same power.

We can speak life over the grave in the name of Jesus. We too have overcome. And I know that as we journey through life many of us will face hardship, struggle, death… and we may witness it in the lives of others. We may feel discouraged and overwhelmed by the seemingly bleak state of the world. But remember, and take heart – Christ has overcome the world. He holds power over poverty, addiction, racism, human trafficking, family brokenness, greed, and disease because he has risen again. So let’s join with him and the thousands of others he is calling from around the world and answer him: “Yes, Lord. We will do something about this.”