The second part of this lesson from Meeting God in Holy Places by F. LaGard Smith looks at what Jesus's resurrection means to us. When we think about the tomb of Jesus, we think of an empty tomb that has the stone rolled away from the entrance. We remember with awe and wonder that Jesus came out of the tomb, having been raised from the dead. We praise God that our Savior is a risen Lord!
LaGard asks whether we, in our rejoicing, might have missed something important about Jesus's burial, as well as our own. What did Paul say to us? He said: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
We all have our own spiritual tombs with a stone against the entrance. To roll away the stone, we must be buried with Christ. To identify with Jesus in life, we must identify with Him in death. What does it mean to be buried with Christ? "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?"
The symbolism of baptism is a means of identification with God, since God identifies with the darkness in our lives, we must also identify with the darkness of the tomb where He was laid. And this act of identification can be called bonding. Having died to the world, our former selves are buried in the tomb of Christ. Only by being buried with Christ can we rejoice in a resurrection. Resurrection always requires a burial.
You may remember the story of a young prophet who was sent to warn King Jeroboam that he was about to be punished for his idolatrous behavior. Having been instructed not to eat, drink or return the same way, the prophet went on his way. An old prophet lied to him and told the young prophet that an angel had said that he should eat with him. Believing the lie, the young prophet eats with the old prophet and is later killed by a lion.
When the old prophet hears of the young prophet's death, he claims the body and buries it in his own tomb, distraught and weeping over his deception. He says to his sons, "When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones...for the message he declared...will certainly come true." The message for us is that there is life in being buried with Christ...bone to bone with the Son of God!
When God spoke to Ezekiel in his vision of the dry bones, He said: "I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will show that I am the Lord." This isn't a picture of shrouds and sepulchres, death and decay. It's the opposite! He isn't describing a TOMB, He's describing a WOMB!
The little group realized as they stood in the tomb, the connection to the womb. They sang "Abide with Me" and went out of the tomb...bone to bone with Jesus forever.
Have a beautiful Lord's Day!
Blessings...Mimi
