Tag Archives: tomb

Basalt Columns

basalt columns

I recently saw a picture of basalt columns in Iceland and was amazed by how square and exact the columns were. Upon reading up on why that is, the best answer I can deduce is that it happens because of the nature of heating and cooling melted rock. Basalt is a volcanic rock that at one time was a hot, flowing liquid before a cooling process pulls the molten material toward a center point that forms the rock into hard hexagonal shapes.

Though I still don’t quite get it, I am fascinated by the beauty of this natural phenomenon. It makes me wonder: “If God can make these columns rise up from the ashy substance from a volcano, what else can he do?” A lot, of course. But so often we don’t give God the credit he deserves. We continue to think in our limited minds that we know best or we know how God goes about things.

The psalmist gets it right:

When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels
   and crowned them with glory and honor. —Psalm 8:3-5

We are only on this earth by God’s good pleasure. What he does and how he does things are still beyond our fully fathoming. We only get a glimpse of his vast ability and creativity when we see something like basalt columns. Yet this does not mean that he is not aware of us. By his great mercy, he crowns us with undeserved attention and significance. We are like the basalt columns, wondrously created and beautifully designed. And we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those similarly formed as prime examples of what our God can do by his mighty hand.

And marvel of marvels, God even takes the form of a human being in Jesus Christ that all the earth might be redeemed from the ravages of sin by the liquid flow of his blood through his death of the cross, that a rock might miraculous roll away from his tomb to reveal him alive forevermore. Now that’s a rock formation worth celebrating!

Out of the Tombs

Jesus healed the man who was not in his right mind living naked out by the tombs, cutting himself. When Jesus healed the man, the people saw him dressed, speaking plainly and in his right mind.

The symbolism of being naked is that those who are naked are not protected and not covered by the robe of righteousness from Christ. They are open to the elements and to the evils of the world.

The man is cutting himself, which reveals his dishonor toward his body and his disrespect toward himself.

The fact that the man was not speaking plainly tells us that he was not fully in the Word and was not understanding the Word of God being spoken to him.

Not being in his right mind explains that the devil is taking hold of the mind God has given him. Not being plain in speech makes it clear that God is not in control of the man’s thoughts.

The man when he was healed served as an object lesson in and of himself. This man’s newfound ability to speak, his clothed body, his clear mind and his end to cutting made people realize that Jesus was at work. The man himself spread the word that Jesus had transformed him and that Jesus was his Savior. People came to believe in Jesus because of this man and what they had witnessed happening to him.

Out of the Tomb

open tomb

Happy Easter! The popular worship song, “Glorious Day,” includes these lyrics:

You called my name
And I ran out of that grave
Out of the darkness
Into your glorious day

On this day when we celebrate Christ emerging from the tomb to resurrected life, we remember that on this day our resurrected Lord frees us from all the “tombs” we have put ourselves in on this earth, “tombs” of guilt, shame, addiction, fear, doubt. Now that Christ has step foot from his tomb alive, we are released from these “tombs” to bask in this glorious day of resurrection joy, filled with victory, forgiveness, confidence and faith in Christ. In his glory, we have all the grace we need from him to overcome all that once held us back from new life. Our life is now renewed and restored forever. What glorious news! Alleluia! Amen.

No Foolin’

empty tombHappy Easter! What a wonderful coincidence that Easter lands on April Fools’ Day this year! It is so symbolic and ironic on many levels. Consider these verses from Scripture in light of the triumphant resurrection of Christ from the dead on this day:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (I Corinthians 3:10-20).

On Good Friday, many at the foot of the cross of Christ thought Jesus was foolish. They thought he was a fraud. But on this Easter Day, it is they who are the fools and Jesus who is our Risen Wisdom.

On the cross, Jesus may have looked weak and foolishness, but it was in the weakness that the power of God was revealed and came to fulfillment at the empty tomb.

They thought they had Jesus all figured out on Good Friday, but today Jesus makes it clear that he is the one who has everything figured out for our eternal salvation.

Praise the Lord and alleluia to him.

 

Risen

I saw the movie Risen in the theater a couple weeks ago, and was especially struck by how the actors portrayed the disciples’ individual reunions with their Savior. There was utter joy on their faces at seeing their Master again and Jesus responded with pure exuberance at seeing them again as they embraced one another. The movie’s portrayals of these interactions spoke to the depth of the bonds that Jesus had with his disciples and the eagerness they all had to be together.

empty tomb

He is risen indeed!

It reminds me that Jesus desires the same sort of relationship with me and with each one of us. But I find myself not as quick to respond as the disciples did. I moan a little when I wake up on some Sundays before heading to church. I hesitate to pray before a meal or at bedtime, because I feel uncomfortable about engaging in the activity.

But worship and prayer should be something that come naturally to us as Christians. They should be things that we crave and that we are eager to involve ourselves in. Why? Because they give us more personal time with our best Friend, Jesus. They help us to grow closer to him, to build a stronger relationship with our Lord who only wants to be with us and love us. Continue reading →

Easter Eggs

I am always fascinated by the attraction to Easter egg hunts. Why do we get so excited about them? I know that lots of parishes hold them every year, and even the Easter Egg Roll at the White House on Easter Monday is a huge event with thousands in attendance.Easter eggs

I thought to myself, “What does an Easter egg hunt entail?” First, there is the act of first dying the eggs in various colors for the hunt. Then there is the hiding of the eggs, and finally the finding.

Then it hit me: the Easter egg hunt is a microcosm of what happened that first Easter.

First, Christ died for us and drops of his red blood fell to the ground, much the same way dye drops onto the pure white of the egg. After Jesus dies, he is hidden, buried in a tomb behind a large Continue reading →