Listen to Sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, April 16, 2017
Fred Hiebert is sometimes called the real Indiana Jones. He is an archeologist who works for National Geographic. He has traveled to Afghanistan, Egypt and all over the world, to study (and sometimes even discover) ancient buildings and treasure He just spent a year in the tomb of Jesus. This is the site where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is just down the hill from where Jesus was crucified. It was first built in 335 AD. Deep within is the cave—the tomb hewn out of solid rock is located where Jesus was buried. Because so many Christian traditions have a stake there, it took 50 years for Hiebert and his team to get permission to study and work there. They wanted to see what they might discover and, at the same time, renovate and clean up a nearly 1,700 year old mess. Hiebert said that it is the darkest and dingiest place he has ever worked. And even though it is the dirtiest and most lightless place he had ever worked, he was tasked with spending a year there to learn and clean.
Two thousand years earlier—early that Sunday morning, it also took courage for the women to go see the tomb where the body of Jesus lay. Cemeteries and tombs can be scary places. And even more than that, the tomb represented the power of death itself. The Hebrew Scripture describes the grave—Sheol—as an open mouth. This rocky opening leads to an appetite for the living. The iron bars they would sometimes put over the mouth of a tomb are described as teeth. The grave has an insatiable appetite for the living and it’s open mouth is a constant reminder that death calls out to us all.
The tomb represents a universal fear of humanity—death. It threatens us all. And at times it seems that death has a cruel appetite for the living and that it is the merciless fate of us all. For those of us who remain, we grieve our loss. We are thankful for the time God gives to us with those we love. And at the same time, we realize just how brief and precious life is. It is with that loving devotion that the women go to Jesus’ grave.
Just before Hiebert spent a year in the tomb of Jesus, he spent three months in the Tomb of another King—King Tutanhhamun in the Valley of Kings in Egypt. He said you are by yourself in this 3,000 year old grave. You are communing with the past. And that is the way it is with all ancient burial sites—except, he says, for the tomb of Jesus. The only thing they discovered in their year underground was unstable ground beneath the tomb and an even more ancient quarry dating back to when Jerusalem was first built. One of the few stipulations of their work there was that it would remain open to the public and that the church continue its worship. There is a monastery there with monks who pray and chant Gregorian tones multiple times a day. Hiebert says that it was an incredible experience. It is an amazing sound scape—the acoustics wonderfully carry the songs of the faithful. He said it was “one of the more extraordinary experiences of my life as an archeologist.” Even though the Tomb of Jesus is one of the darkest and dingiest places he has ever visited, he said it is the liveliest! He said at Jesus’ Tomb you commune with the past “but at the same time there are pilgrims everywhere, monks praying and chanting, and candles everywhere. It is such a different living space. It is a unique experience.” It took them a year to restore the charred soot walls back to their crystal and white marble. Hiebert said he never saw so many black robed patriarchs smiling so big. He went to a place of burial and found one of the liveliest places he has been to.
That is the Easter message! The angel says, “Do not be afraid; you may be in the darkest, dingiest places in your life. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised!” The women say, “He has been raised from the dead, indeed!” They quickly leave with fear and joy to tell others. Jesus transformed a place of death into a place of resurrection and promise of new life for us. The tomb is no longer a symbol of death and its desire to have us for breakfast. The open and empty tomb now cries out, “He is not here!” “He is risen!” It is now a mouth of song and praise. It is the liveliest place on earth because that is where Jesus rose. For in him we all have the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life.
Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See what today is done;
Now, after gloom and sadness,
Come forth the glorious sun.
My Savior there was laid
Where our bed must be made
When to the realms of light
Our spirit wings its flight.
("Awake, My Heart, with Gladness" v. 1, Paul Gerhardt)
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