Can you imagine viewing the tomb of Jesus? In the second chapter of Meeting God in Holy Places, F. LaGard Smith gives us his thoughts and observations about his visit to "Jesus's tomb" in the city of Jerusalem.
Upon entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, visitors are met with an ostentatious scene filled with a mixture of Crusader and Byzantine styles, along with pretentious religious trappings. Five sects fight over jurisdiction of the shrine, and all of them contribute to maintaining it. One observation is that if the Church of the Holy Sepulchre sits on holy ground, shouldn't there be more respect for it? The Jews fear walking on the Temple Mount lest they should walk on ground that is holy. Quiet viewing from a distance seems more appropriate for the tomb of Jesus, if their claims are true. ~
In any case, millions of pilgrims and tourists for centuries have flocked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in hopes of touching the essence of their Christian faith from cross to tomb. And even though the immediate scene with it's lavish decorations, smells and bells was offensive, the guide took the group behind the "official tomb" to a cave-like tomb which would have been like the tomb where Jesus was buried.
~ Suddenly the little group was squeezed into a darkened tomb, where the tiny light from a match went immediately out, and they were left in a close and claustrophobic darkness. The smell and coldness only added to the atmosphere. A stone at the entrance was all they needed to feel completely trapped.
~ These pictures are probably more like Jesus's tomb than any others. But we don't have proof of either.
Astonishingly, two things rushed to Lagard's mind: "the Lord of heaven and earth was actually buried in such a place.... And, who knows, perhaps this very place!" These thoughts took him from reading about Jesus's death and burial to feeling His very presence closely and intimately, as if He were lying right there wrapped in a linen cloth next to him! Remembering that Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed," LaGard felt blessed to have seen in this special way.
And what can we take from this experience? For one thing, it reminds us that our lives can be swallowed up in darkness and despair. You can be slowly suffocating in a job you hate. Or some of you may be trapped in a lifeless marriage. For us, remembering that "God in human flesh allowed himself to be trapped in the suffocating darkness of a cold, musty tomb, as if to say, 'Wherever you are, I'll be with you. I've been there before'."
There is a second part to this blog, which I'll bring to you tomorrow. My last Bible blog was in August of last year. Life has been as crazy for me as it has for you, but I hope that I can manage to blog more often now. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
~ Blessings...Mimi
Chapter 2: The Holy Sepulchre--John 20:29; Romans 6:3-4; I Kings 13:1-32; 2 Kings 23:16-18; Numbers 19:16; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 26:30.
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