The Empty Tomb (Spiritual Reflection)

The stone in front of Jesus’s tomb was big and heavy.

The women who went to the tomb on Sunday morning after the Sabbath, wondered as they were making their way there to anoint Jesus’ body, who could roll the stone away, so that they could get into the tomb.

This did not prove to be a problem as when they arrived at the tomb the stone had already been rolled away.

Stones feature in many stories from the bible. David Killed Goliath with a stone flung from his sling.

Jesus’ is called the corner stone of the Church and is the one on which our faith rests; Jesus is our foundation.

We are called to build our life on solid ground that cannot shift or wash our house away; not on sinking sand which will move and allow the house to collapse and be destroyed.

A stone sealed Jesus’ tomb.

Jesus tells Peter that the rock on which the church is built is the Word of God and Jesus is the Living Word.

At Woodturning, the Club challenged the members to make something with an Easter Theme. It was a competition just for fun. This got me to thinking about what I to make from a chunk of wood. I have made a few bowls, so I decided to make a bowl shaped like a rock. I thought perhaps it could go in the niches as an Easter symbol. So, that is what I began to work on.

As I progress in shaping a bowl that looked like a heavy stone, I continued to think about the stone and those bible passages. Jesu was the stone that the builders rejected. He became the corner stone, the most important stone that held a building together. As a result of Jesus, we have been rescued from being like useless dead stones to become living stones in the alive building, the Holy Christian Church. Each person rescued by Jesus is to be an active, alive and vibrant part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, then I thought, that perhaps the stone (the bowl, could be turned around and seen to be open) and as Jesus has risen.

THE TOMB IS EMPTY LIKE THE BOWL. Jesus is risen. He HAS GIVEN HIS BODY FOR US and is the bread of life. It would therefore be meaningful for us to take the stone, which is now a bowl, out of the niches and place the bread for the Lord’s supper in it; that is the body of Jesus. In this meal, the resurrected body of Jesus from the tomb is now given to us and we are fed and nurtured to be made like Him. We join Him as living stones and through faith in His death and resurrection are now one with Him and share in resurrection with Him and are given eternal life as His free gift to us. Our sin is forgiven through the Jesus taking our punishment on the cross and we are changed into new people and made heirs of heaven.

Who would have ever thought that making a bowl at wood turning could become such a meaningful experience for me. I hope sharing this with you has also been a way of thinking about what Jesus has done for us on this Easter Sunday morning when the women found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.