Joseph of Arimathea was questioned about why he would be willing to give his prime location gravesite to a crucified, rejected man, and Joseph replied, "It won't be a problem. He only needs it for the weekend."
That was a joke our pastor told last year. When we were in Israel in February, we walked into one of the gravesite 'cave' locations thought to be where Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus. By the standards of their day, this one definitely would have been owned by a wealthy person. It was a room, with multiple places to lay a body. Part of it looked like a natural cave, but in addition there were areas carved out around the periphery of the main room.
The Bible tells us that the gravesite was one where no one had ever been laid. For us, that would be a strange statement - but in their custom, once all there was left was bones, they gathered the bones and put them in a small box - then put the smaller boxes in another area for keeping. Obviously, then, over time the family grave would hold many different bodies for that stage of their decay.
I am told that it was customary to surround the body with about 75 pounds of spices, and wrap it in a cloth. It is pretty obvious that the spices would help with the smell of the decaying body - and perhaps even have properties that accelerated the process. In my trip to Israel 5 years earlier, we were told that there were 'coffins' that were limestone which did accelerate the process.
Enough of the history of the morbid. The important thing is: once the soul was gone, the body was and is just a shell. Nobody's home.
Resurrection changes everything. It gives us a hope beyond the pain of the grave. It promises us ultimate perfection in God's eternal Kingdom. And we have a hope that isn't just wishful thinking. It is secure! 'I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day.' That phrase is a chorus we used to sing in church when I was a child. I'm so grateful I can declare that as truth.
Can you imagine the exhilaration when the disciples finally realized what the women were telling them was true. He is risen!
THANK YOU, LORD, for all you did, for all you suffered, for your substitutionary death so I can live, for rising again from the dead so everything you taught is validated, and for your coming reign - when all people will acknowledge you as LORD. Sadly, not all will acknowledge you as their personal Lord and Savior, but all will finally know that what you said is true. You are TRUTH. Thank you for being my Lord and my Savior. Help me point others to You. In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
The following poem is from March 27, 1984. I shared it last Spring, too....but this year it has even more significance. I am grateful for the brief reminder of spring and loved the sunshine - but I'm ready for more. It's been a long winter....
SPRING DIALOGUE
by Lola Cain
The Wind and the Rain
were having a chat.
The Wind said, “You spit.”
The Rain said, “You blat.”
“If my blowing is blatting
then blowing I’ll do.”
So Wind huffed a big puff;
and he blew and he blew.
“Stop blowing!” Rain yelled,
“Or before you are through
Earth’s dirt will be gone.”
But Wind blew and blew.
So Rain spewed a rainstorm
and turned Earth to mud:
With torrents and buckets
and cloudbursts – a flood.
“Please stop it,” Earth hollered.
“Just stop it, you two!
“Can’t you see that your fighting
is hurting me too?”
“March is over! It’s April!
It’s time now for Spring –
time for flowers and grasses
and hearing birds sing.”
So Wind stopped his howling
…was lilting again;
And Rain quit his drenching
and let the sun in.
Then Earth heaved a sigh
that awakened the buds;
and April burst forth
through the drizzle and mud.
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