Darkness was over the face of the deep… That’s what was there at the beginning. Darkness. Chaos. Empty. Nothing.

This same void descended on the earth on Friday. The same empty nothingness filled the day. The light was being extinguished—the sun refused to shine. The light of this world. The Light of THE world hung His head and gave up His spirit. His body broken. Exposed. His mouth—His soul—like a desert, Thirsty… My God, My God, why have you forsaken me. Darkness. Pitch black. The hope of the world was slain. 

His body, hurriedly placed in a garden tomb. His followers—grieving. Broken. Disheartened. He was supposed to be the one. He was supposed to be the Messiah—the One to make all things right again.

Darkness set over those dreams too. The stone sealing off all those dreams and all hope in a shrouded blanket darkness. The savior was dead. 

It wasn’t Jesus alone that was buried in that tomb. It was all hope. All joy. All the promises. In that tomb, behind that curtain of stone, life itself was buried. 

What do we do now? What do we do when all hope is lost?

The women, the ones who walked with Jesus and witnessed His goodness, wanted to honor him. To care for his body, even with broken spirits, was the least they could do. To honor all that Jesus had done. Even if it was only to live forward in their memories, they were obligated to honor him.

Their tender hearts rose early, on the first day of the week. Their hearts still shattered. But love walks through pain. And so they gathered at the tomb. Wondering—who will move that cold, heavy stone curtain? The barrier between His broken body and their broken hearts. Our broken hearts…

Do you hear it? Can you feel it? This morning there is a rattling. A rumbling of the Spirit. Moving among us. The sound of a stone being rolled away. The curtain separating life from death was being moved. The sound of the Spirit of God rushing into His lungs. Rushing in to your lungs.

The evil one thought he had won. But the truth is simply this…. When death swallows life—when death swallows the Way, the Truth, and the Life and tries to bury this life in a cold dark tomb…. The author of life breaks out. 

This is the day that begins with a rattling. This is the day when the breathe of the spirit fills the lungs of the author of Life. This is the day when the stone cries out. This is the day when hope lives. 

Because Jesus. Is. Alive.