We often associate something being empty as a disappointing thing, be it an empty box, which we hoped to find a certain item in, or a special parcel we’d been waiting for, only to find the supplier forgot to put the item into the box before despatch.
I’m sure we can bring to mind many times when something has been missing and we’ve felt that disappointment.
We have just remembered Easter, and the Disciples had returned to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid to rest; they had returned only to find it empty. You get the immediate sense of their disappointment, thinking that the body of Jesus had been moved, or worse still stolen, yet their devastation turns to delight as they realise that the empty tomb is indeed good news, in fact the best event they had ever known and could imagine. Death could not contain Him, and the empty tomb was the first sign that Jesus had defeated death and had indeed risen again as He promised He would.
We may not always see or sense the work and presence of God in our daily lives, and this can at times be because we don’t stop long enough to look and listen for His still small voice, but even in those moments were we may feel God is missing, we can be assured that when Jesus says “He will never leave us nor forsake us” He keeps His promise to us, just as He did to the disciples on that Easter morning.
• David is priest-in-charge of Sutton Bridge St Matthew’s and Tydd St Mary’s