Empty and full…

A week past Friday I was in Jerusalem for the first time for several years. The old city was quiet. I went with Bart McKettrick and Gordon McKenzie who are members of the board of the Church of Scotland’s Tabeetha School, along with me. Gordon had never been to Jerusalem before and Bart was giving us a quick tour before a day of reflection and writing as governors.

Bart took us to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There was a service going on upstairs and the deep, sonorous melodies of the chants filled the space. But there were very few tourists and pilgrims.

Bart took us to the site of the tomb.

As you probably know, often there are long queues of pilgrims waiting patiently to dip their heads and peek in. On this day we were able to step inside, the three of us, and spend quite a long time. The floor is worn by the steps of shuffling pilgrims, the marble bench polished smooth by prayerful hands. Unlike other sites of veneration, the additional art and gilt and ikons are restrained. This is an empty tomb. There is nothing there.

And that is the point.

Each gospel tells a slightly different version of the same story: a woman, or some women, while it was still dark, as soon as they could after Sabbath had ended, went to the tomb expecting to anoint the body of their beloved friend, and they found it empty. The stone rolled away, the body gone. In some versions there are two men in white who tell the women , ‘Don’t be afraid…go…tell…’

And they do. Their impossible tale is met with a spectrum of disbelief and incredulity, but over time, the disciples, too, are met by the Risen Jesus. The marks of his suffering are still visible, but he breathes on them life.

The small frightened band gain confidence and find their voices and their mission. They do not melt away back to Galilee. They do not hide away for fear they will suffer the same fate as their leader. They continue to meet. They continue to pray together. They continue to share meals.

The Resurrection is an unfolding story. Christ is alive. And because Christ is alive the world can change.

Although we often fail our Lord, as Rowan Williams puts it, ‘The body of Christ shows that there are ways of living together as human beings that are not tribal, violent, exclusive and anxious.’

Our service today in St Andrew’s Galilee will end with Desmond Tutu’s affirmation of faith:

Leader	Goodness is stronger than evil
ALL	LOVE IS STRONGER THAN HATE
Leader	Light is stronger than darkness
ALL	LIFE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH
Leader	Victory is ours through Him who loved us.



Living Lord,

Breathe your life into us now

So that, transformed,

We may live out of hope and not fear

Sharing your story as Resurrection people

Whose song is Alleluia!

Amen.