#TheGraveIsEmpty
I am writing this on Easter evening, or, as Christians like to call it, Resurrection Sunday.
Today we had a plan in place. I planned on waking up, going to a sunrise service of a new church in my area and then gathering the entire family together and heading up to PA to spend the day with my parents. If you read a previous blog post of mine, you will know that my mom has stage IV cancer and we don’t really have a lot of time with her.
Well, this morning the call came.
“Fred, get up here. Leave the kids home, come to PA. Your mom doesn’t have long left.”
My heart sank. I immediately changed all the plans and started driving north.
The plan was to move her to a hospice facility where she could finish up her final hours without pain. She was breathing very shallow and, in between each breath, was moaning in pain. When I got here, I was told by my dad that the ambulance to transport her was about an hour out.
I sat down at mum’s bedside and prayed with her. I told her to simply let God have control and stop trying to take that control away from Him. Let Him heal her, whether that be through a miraculous healing of the cancer or through ending her pain through taking her home.
I went to the place we were ordering Easter meal from to pay for it and have them donate it to a local church. After I returned I went back in to check on mum. I told her I loved her.
When I walked in the door I heard the moaning and breaths, but a few moments after walking out of the room, I didn’t hear it anymore. I asked pap and he said that she occasionally does that. This time I went back in and noticed her eyes partially opened. She wasn’t breathing.
I called to pap and he checked her. We were pretty sure she had gone home to her Creator.
We called the hospice nurse. She cancelled the ambulance and came right over and pronounced her dead at 11:45 AM.
My mom knew. She didn’t want to end her days in the hospice facility. She told us that a few weeks ago when she was in the hospital. She wanted to end her days surrounded by me and pap in her own home.
And that is how she died.
The rest of the day has been a blur. We spent time with the funeral home getting her moved and planning the viewing. We went to eat a local diner that was open today (that was such a blessing!). Then back home to go through all the old pictures and reminisce about mum and how much she meant to us.
We are having a viewing on Wednesday and then immediate cremation.
Why no funeral?
Because the grave is empty!
When mum passed through the wildwood into the place where dreams come true, she ceased to be mum and simply became a body. The essence of mum is found in the Spirit that inhabited her.
Mum loved God and people. She had a servant’s heart. As a matter of fact, she had the Servant’s heart. She had the heart of God.
So now it is Easter eve. Pap finally fell asleep. The house is quiet. The only noise I hear is the droning of the ceiling fan above and the tapping of the keys on my keyboard.
I am sitting her thanking God for taking her so quickly so she didn’t suffer too long. I am thanking Him for the opportunity to tell her I loved her before she passed from somewhere into elsewhere.
The truth about Easter is just what happened today.
The grave is empty.
Mum will not be in a grave because there is no reason for it.
Christ burst from the grave. He proclaimed to the world His return.
He gave the disciples a mission to accomplish.
Jesus’ final 40 days on earth, after exiting the grave, dealt with sharing the Kingdom of God with everyone.
There is a reason to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. Just like there is a reason to celebrate my mum’s life with my pap through the old pictures.
The reason is simple.
Power.
The power of the Holy Spirit is freely given after bursting from the grave. The power for my mum to live on through my actions and words is amplified after her death. How much more will I look at how I deal with people after seeing my mom live it.
How much more do I want to proclaim the Kingdom of God now that Christ has given us this mandate after leaving the grave.
So, what will I proclaim on the day after Easter?
I will proclaim the Servant’s heart of my mom. She embedded that in me through her gracious living. And I will take that lesson and translate it to my Christian theology and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God places Jesus on the throne. Entrance to the kingdom requires new birth (John 3:5), repentance (Matthew 3:2), and the divine call (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Jesus calls us to seek the Kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:33) and pray for it to come (Matthew 6:10). It is joy in the Holy Spirit, righteousness, and peace (Romans 14:7).
So again, I sit here in the quiet of the night.
Thinking about how to live out my mom’s servant heart and how to proclaim the Kingdom of God through all I do.
Tomorrow is a new day. A new day to celebrate the two people I love dearly who have burst from the grave, Jesus and my mom.
boyradd 