Tag: tomb

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

What are you doing here?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

Some “through the bible” thoughts from Luke 24.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

We do it all the time:

  • Turn the key one more time, even though the starter won’t even click because the car battery is dead.
  • We search around through containers of fuzzy leftover food in the refrigerator, hoping to find something edible.
  • Birds build a nest in a flower pot near my front door. I went out to see the eggs every day, until the day when there weren’t any. I don’t think they hatched. I think a lizard ate them. But I still peeked in every day or so, just to make sure I didn’t miss new ones.
  • When I need some help shopping in a big box store, I futilely scan every aisle to find someone in a blue or orange vest. Not a single soul to be found.
  • I show up at someone’s house for a visit. I called ahead to set up a time. Upon arrival, no one answers the doorbell and then a knock. I peer in the windows around the door. No lights are on. No one is home. They forgot.
  • Why do many return to cemeteries after the burial of a loved one? To complete unfinished conversations? To have the last word? To keep memories alive?

Just like the women who showed up at to tomb at early dawn on the first day of the week, we go to places of death. The angels who appeared are surprised to see the women. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Don’t you remember what he told you? Don’t you remember how the prediction of his crucifixion was followed by the promise of resurrection? What are you doing here?

We can’t help it. Death is the end of the story for leftovers, batteries, and human life. Until Jesus rewrites the ending. Until we encounter an empty tomb. Until we remember what he said.

Where will you look for life today?

Posted in Resurrection reflections

Now it’s about life

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“When they went in [the tomb] [the women] did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:3-6).

All four gospel accounts include angels. Their brilliant white appearance and shocking words stop the women in their tracks. Death is off the table. Now we’re talking about life.

A frequently asked question is, “But did you die?” A killer workout. A long shift at work. A painful procedure. A bank-account draining expense. A bad hair day. Burnt food. Hateful words that cut deep.

It’s like a flow chart. Did you die? No. There will be another day. Life goes on.

While it’s good to keep mortality in mind, we need frequent reminders that we’re alive. I woke up, I’m breathing, my heart is beating. I’m alive.

Now what am I going to do with this day?

Posted in Resurrection reflections

They found the stone rolled away

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb” (Luke 24:1-2).

Imagine that you are one of those who visits the grave of a loved one in a cemetery. But one day you find a hole in front of the tombstone. Right next to it you see an excavator and a pile of dirt. The vault is open, the coffin is overturned, and the lid is open. The corpse is gone.

How would you react? Shock. Anger. Confusion. What in the world is going on here? How could this happen? Who would do this?

That’s the situation at dawn on Sunday morning. The stone has been rolled from the tomb. Scholars believe it was at least four feet in diameter, weighing between one and two tons.

The women didn’t think it through. In Mark’s gospel, they ask, “Who’s going to roll the stone away?” But it wasn’t a problem. In Matthew’s gospel, the stone is moved by an earthquake and an angel. Here in Luke’s gospel, it’s not supposed to be open. What happened? Who would do this? Who could do this?

When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, and that restricted space was suddenly open. On the third day, the tomb is open. Now it’s time to open hearts and minds to the new reality of resurrection.

Posted in Life, Resurrection reflections

The Last Act of Love: Women at Jesus’s Tomb

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).

I’ve never felt compelled to go back to the cemetery where my mother and father are buried. I know that many people do. Before his own death fourteen years later, my dad planted flowers at my mother’s grave at a church in suburban Philadelphia. Others return to talk to deceased loved ones. Some go to confirm genealogical information.

Those who went to the tomb were women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to Jerusalem. They watched as Joseph (from Arimathea) and Nicodemus (John 19:29) took Jesus’s corpse from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a cave, a garden tomb cut in stone. That all happened late Friday afternoon, just before sunset, the beginning of the Sabbath.

These women went to the tomb to complete the burial ritual for Jesus. This includes washing the body, rubbing it with spices, and wrapping it with a shroud, before placing it in a tomb. It was a last act of love, a final goodbye, and part of their grieving process.

It probably wasn’t the first time they had done this. But death is death, and their hearts were heavy. Their minds were filled with horrific images of crucifixion. They had no thoughts about the future. They focused on the task at hand.

To catch the nuance of this verse, try to remember a moment when you had to say goodbye.

It was that kind of a morning.

This is the second in a series of reflections on Jesus’s resurrection as recorded in Luke’s gospel.

Posted in 2022 Lent Devotions

The stone

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Mirror of the Passion” devotion for April 16, 2020. Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

And Joseph rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (Matthew 27:60)

Impressive. All the art work I’ve seen shows the stone in front of the tomb as at least a thousand pound hunk of rock. Joseph rolled it there? Whoa, this guy’s in better shape than me.

The stone was meant to keep people out, right? Or was it to keep Jesus in? All of the above? I don’t know.

All we know is that the stone was in place on Saturday. On Friday it was open, til they laid the body of Jesus there. On Sunday, when the women showed up, the stone had been rolled away. On Saturday, the stone was doing its job, sealing up the entrance to the tomb.

How do you respond to a locked door? Walk away? Look for another way in? Jiggle the doorknob, hoping it will somehow open? Check the windows? Do you accept the reality? Or look for an alternative?

Saturday is one of those days. It feels like nothing is going to happen. It’s a done deal. Your hopes and dreams aren’t going anywhere. Monday will come soon enough. Back to the routine. Same old same old.

If they only knew. If they only knew what was happening behind that stone. If they only remembered Jesus’ words about resurrection and life. If they only knew what was happening in the dark. If they only saw the scene in hell. If they only knew what the women would find on Sunday morning.

We don’t know what’s happening behind the stone walls, behind the scenes, behind what seems to be unmovable obstacles in our lives. These are places we cannot go. But these are the places where the most important things are happening.

Just wait til Sunday morning. Just wait til the sun comes up. Just wait til you wake up. The biggest, unmovable assumptions of your life won’t be a problem any more.

That’s the power of resurrection.

So maybe this is Saturday. Maybe you’re stuck. Maybe you have no place to go. There is a big rock in the way. Maybe there is nothing you can do. Just wait. The sun will set. The sun will rise. And it will be a new day. It will be Sunday. And all of those worries will fade like the morning dew.

I’ll wait, Lord. I know the new day is just a few moments away.

Posted in 2022 Lent Devotions

Images of death

Posted on by William Douthwaite

“Mirror of the Passion” Lent devotion for April 7, 2022. Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. (Luke 23:55)

Sometimes it’s a hot, sunny afternoon. Other times a chilling rain falls. Dozens may be there to watch. Or just a few stick around. Some have laid a rose on the casket. A cemetery worker winds a crank to lower the coffin into the vault. A few will throw some ceremonial handfuls of dirt into the grave. Or they will slide the urn into its niche. On occasion, I have dropped remains into a waterway or let the wind blow the ashes across a marsh. We watch as a friend, a loved one, or a stranger is laid to rest.

How do you feel in that moment? Sad? Empty? Numb? Relieved? All of the above? Do you think the women who came with Jesus from Galilee had any idea their week would end like this? I doubt it. Jesus had never been more popular. Crowed hailed him as the next king. He restored the temple to a house of prayer. Next up: restore the kingdom to Israel!

Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus’ body in linen. They laid his corpse in Joseph’s tomb. It was over. A terrible, very bad Friday was over. How could they ever forget that sight?

We consume many images of death each day. We drive by cemeteries. News reports show us mangled car crashes, the rubble of collapsed buildings, scenes from war, storm-flattened towns, candlelight vigils, and roadside memorials. Reporters tell us about the viruses, food, pollution, safety hazards, and storms that threaten our lives.

How do you feel in these moments? The feelings only graze me; I’m too busy to dwell on it. I get annoyed; everything out there is bad for me. I look away; I don’t want to see the carnage.

So many want to watch. Traffic slows to see the overturned car surrounded by rescue vehicles. Neighbors wander to the curb when the ambulance stops in front of a house down the street. Large audiences watch live broadcasts of celebrity funerals. So many watched as Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb.

After a movie, I like to stick around to see the bonus trailer. A little sneak peak of a sequel. I want to tell the women who came from Galilee that same thing. Stick around a little longer. If you think Jesus’ death and burial were unexpected, just wait til Sunday morning!

I see so much death, Lord. Open my eyes to see life, too.