Seeing is not always believing. A bright light in the night sky could be a star or an airliner. A compelling work of art could be from an artistic master, or it might be a fraud. An empty tomb could just as easily be evidence of grave robbery as evidence of something supernatural. Yes, believing is often preceded by seeing, but deep-down, faith filled believing requires more than eyesight.
The followers of Jesus brought physical sight to the tomb. They saw the evidence of a stone rolled away and burial clothes rolled up and put aside. They may have initially assumed that the body of their friend was disrespected even in death. But they had been shaped by their experience of Jesus and knew that everything about him stirred their hearts and ignited their imaginations to hope in what seemed unlikely or even impossible. That empty tomb was not evidence of a crime; it was evidence of the power of God to bring life where death once dwelled.
Faith certainly can be rooted in physical realities that our senses can detect; our senses can attune us to wonder and awe. But faith takes us further. It gives us the courage to leap into trusting in God’s surprises. It helps us move from wishful thinking to investing ourselves in what we know in our hearts to be true: that with God all things are indeed possible.
Easter makes a promise, the promise that we will experience in our own bodies the fullness of life. Every sincere act of forgiveness, each act of service, and all forms of true worship ready our hearts for the fullness of the Kingdom of God.
From Daily Reflections for Lent by Catherine Upchurch
