By Wayne Halvorson, Pastor, Our Savior&8217;s Lutheran Church

During the last few weeks I observed something heart wrenching. A family had to take their dear wife and mother to the cemetery for burial. It was extremely difficult for that family to leave the cemetery.

Their lives had centered around the mother for years. She had been faithful in all her duties as a Christian mother. She had been faithful as a mentor to her children and grandchildren. The family lingered for what seemed like an eternity, even though there was a very cold and biting wind. Grief and sorrow were evident on the faces and in the tears of many.

I have witnessed that same scene over and over again in over 200 funerals here in Albert Lea while pastor of Our Savior&8217;s Lutheran congregation. I can even recall the scene while laying my own mother and father in the grave at the family plot near the church of my childhood in north Iowa.

How do you react when you leave the cemetery after a funeral? You can react with the same sadness and grief that I have witnessed time and again. But the events of this past Sunday make it much more tolerable. We have in the community commemorated the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. That happens to be the &8220;reason for the season&8221; of Easter. The season of Easter is more than just an egg hunt, or a chocolate bunny, or a festive meal; it is the time of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb he had been in since his death on Friday.

The events of the resurrection are not legend. They are not an illusion. They are not wishful thinking; they are a concrete fact of eyewitnesses. Jesus&8217; disciple John went into the tomb to see and he believed. Peter ran to the tomb and looked at the grave clothes that had been wrapped on the body, they were intact, but the body had vanished out of them and he believed. Mary from Magdala had looked into the tomb and had seen angels who explained that &8220;Jesus would go ahead of them and meet them in Galilee.&8221; She even was able to see the Lord Jesus alive just outside the tomb, having thought at first that he was the gardener; she believed Jesus to be the savior of the world, and her savior. There are even nine (or more) appearances of Jesus to eyewitnesses of the accounts of his being alive. On one occasion more than 500 people saw him at once. Check this out in your Bible in these accounts: Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20 and 21; 1 Corinthians 15.

The certainty of the ability, and power of Jesus to come alive again and then tell us all, that he is &8220;coming again to receive us unto himself&8221; (John 14:1-6). And also to tell us that he is going to &8220;call us from the grave again….&8221; (John 5:24-28); takes the &8220;sting&8221; out of the sad departure at a cemetery. With the statement of Peter, who was likely the second person to see him alive on the day of Resurrection, we can be strengthened to make the journey easier. Peter writes, &8220;Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead&8221; (1 Peter 1:3). Now we can walk away from the gravesite of one of our loved ones in a certain faith that Jesus our Savior, is going ahead of us into heaven to &8220;prepare a place for us&8212;and our loved ones.&8221; Jesus&8217; empty tomb is evidence that &8220;He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification&8221; (Romans 4:25). Jesus&8217; empty tomb validates Jesus&8217; promise, &8220;Because I live, you also will live&8221; (John 14:29).

The empty tomb guarantees that we can walk away from this life of grief and sorrow into a new life where there are no more tears, no more pains, no more sorrows (Revelation 7:13-17). When we realize this big picture, it sure changes our perspective on the trip to and from the cemetery, whether it be for one of our loved ones or even our own.