Even though today we stand at the open tomb and peer into that tomb and realize Jesus is not there, I would like to go back, just for a moment, to Good Friday. I would like to go back to the time when Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could have the body of Jesus to give it the proper burial. I would like to go back to those words found in the Gospel according to St. Luke that say, “he took it (that is the body of Jesus) down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid (Luke 23:53). Joseph took down the body of Jesus – but He didn’t take down the cross.

I wonder, how long did that cross on Calvary, erected for Jesus, stay put on that hill? How long did it serve as a reminder that God’s own people took their Lord, had Him stripped, whipped, and left to die with common criminals? How long did that cross serve as a reminder of the critical moment in the history of the world?

I like to think it stayed there for a long time. He died a gruesome death on that tree but the minute He was found alive that cross became something different. The cross, which stood for torture, punishment and death now would stand on that very same hill and become a symbol of victory, salvation and life. That cross would stand on that hill just outside of town but now it stands for all eternity in the hearts of believers. The one they had crucified now lives. The cross of death has become a cross of life.

For these past weeks, the theme for our Midweek Lenten Services including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday is “The Shape of the World and the Shape of the Cross.” We had the opportunity to look closely at different shaped crosses, how they came about and how they have influenced others to serve. The cross today is the “Empty Cross: A Cross for a Dying World.” Even on a day that completely embodies life, like Easter, we still talk about dying. The reason: the world we live in is dying.

The cross that we gaze at is a cross for a dying world. It’s the cross for a world like ours. You have heard that the moment that life begins for one of God’s creations – it begins to die. The flowers live and then die. Trees live and then they die. The animals and the birds they all live – and then they all die. We live and then we die. The cross is for a world like ours – a world that lives and then dies.

The cross that is empty is a cross that shows us how – even though we die – we live. Jesus lives. And as Jesus is alive so are we and we will never die. There’s a pattern here. The pattern for life in Jesus is perfectly clear and is at the center of the Easter message this very morning. The life and death of Jesus had both meaning and function. And so does the cross. The cross stands in the place of what our Savior has done and why we are here today. The cross has meaning and it has function. Allow me to explain.

The cross has a long history in the church and outside the church. The cross had meaning and function in death. For centuries Syrians and Romans used the cross for means of capital punishment. The public display of people nailed to a cross shaped tree was to show others that no one messes with those who have authority over them. That was the meaning.

For its function – it would not only kill those that committed injustice according to the government, it would also strike fear into he hearts of anyone who would think to do the same. It wasn’t too complicated. The cross had meaning and function. The meaning – don’t mess with Caesar. The function: to strike fear in the hearts of men and to “take care of” those who commit insurrection against the government or its people.

But ever since this “Jesus of Nazareth” came along, the cross has been given more “meaning” than “function.” And thank God – because the function of the cross is deplorable but the meaning of the cross is righteousness.

The function of the cross served its purpose with Jesus nailed to it on Good Friday. The function was important as we observed that our Lord’s blood made stains on that cross. That blood was innocent blood. But the blood on that cross also carried each and every one of our sins. That blood soaked cross had our “sin-saturated” blood on it. And the function of our Saviors death on that tree – stains and all – washed us clean of our sins.

And on the third day, when Mary and the others peered into that tomb that Joseph of Arimathea gave to Jesus was empty, that cross still standing on Calvary took on a whole new meaning. The function turned to meaning and the meaning is rich.

The empty cross now means the same for us today as the empty tomb. And the empty tomb means that Jesus is alive and that the victory has been won. Death has no reign over our Lord of life and that life Jesus has won is ours to keep by grace through Faith. The empty cross today can remind us of the empty tomb. Gaze at the cross and see that no one is there. He is not there – He is not in the tomb either. He is alive. He is risen – He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Easter is finally here which means that spring has finally sprung. I know, it doesn’t feel much like spring out there. It’s been feeling more like winter for as long as I can remember (it seems). It’s spring not the less. And so it is with Easter. Easter is more than a feeling. It’s the active life of Jesus in your life making you something that you weren’t before – alive – no matter if it feels that way or not.

I wonder, how long the cross stood on that hill – as a reminder to those who would pass by of what had happened – what would happen. I wonder how many people passed by that cross and thought about the meaning of that cross now that Jesus was alive and seen by so many. The cross had a function – a tool of torture and an instrument of fear – now has a meaning – a symbol of life and statement of forgiveness. The cross will always remain at the center of our lives as Christians because of it’s function – the death of Jesus – and because of its meaning – life to those who believe. The empty cross together with the empty tomb leads us to know of the life we have today. Blessed Easter. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.