Sermon Central
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Casket Stolen
Contributed by Roberta Karchner on Feb 28, 2020 (message contributor)
Funerals usually go calmly. But sometimes things happen that change everything. Perhaps the greatest example is that of Easter morning, as the women arrive to prepare the body, only to find that the stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus was missing. There was much running around and great consternation.
What happened? Where is the body? What do we do now.
A missing body is exactly what happened next to a small church near Pasadena, California (Saint Anthony's Church on Rosemead Blvd, February 26, 2020). The funeral home arrived, that evening, and the driver pulled up near the door to place the flowers in the church, and to assist a fellow attendant with bringing in a body from a second hearse to that location.
But when he went outside, he discovered that his hearse was missing, complete with the casket and body inside.
The police put out an all points bulletin, concerned about a body on the loose, and asked the person who stole the hearse to at least arrange for the return of the body so that the family would be able to hold their service.
The hearse was spotted the following morning, culminating in a high speed chase down the freeway. It ended when the driver totaled the hearse, with the casket and body still inside.
This tells the story of the missing body, but does not tell the story of the family waiting for it to arrive for the funeral. It does not tell of the consternation of those gathered to mourn the loss, only to discover their loved one wasn't where she was supposed to be.
And, while we are grateful for the return of the body, if this were Easter morning, she would have been found, not in the casket, but driving the vehicle.
Consternation isn't enough.
A missing body isn't enough.
The truth about Easter isn't either of those things, it is that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.
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