It is a true story of four women on a pilgrimage to find the tomb where their Lord was laid. See how the Lord gave them a miraculous sign to comfort them.
Resurrection Sunday has such a personal meaning for me. Yes, it’s always been special: brunch, church, Easter baskets, family and food. But since I made the pilgrimage to the grave, it has changed me forever! This is my story.
For on a Pilgrimage
I’ll never forget the first time I saw TOMB.
It was an oppressively hot and rather muggy evening in early July. I studied in the old city of Jerusalem.
We were four American women dressed in holy clothes – head covered, shoulders covered, knees covered. Our headscarves, wet with perspiration, stuck to the sides of our cheeks, and rivulets of perspiration ran down our backs, partly because it was stifling and partly because we were overcome by a heart-rending anticipation of where we were going.
In the old city
We walked through a very crowded, nearby Arab market, alive with strange faces and unusual aromas. Brightly colored vessels hung on both sides of the two-story high narrow streets. The streets were so narrow that no more than two of us could walk.
We ventured away from the rest of the students to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the holy burial place of Jesus of Nazareth. The four of us decided that we should not visit the Samadhi as part of the course, but as a pilgrimage.
We walked together holding each other’s hands and clothes to make sure we didn’t get separated in the overwhelming crowd. The streets were crowded with people, and there was a labyrinth of roads and passages. Ancient stone buildings were so tall on both sides that it looked like we were in a tunnel!
It wasn’t long until we were completely lost! It was evening, and soon, the sun was going to set. Not a good time to be completely lost in a strange city.
Nika
At one point, we stopped at the corner of an ancient stone building trying to find our bearings.
Standing in the middle of the street, I could stretch out my arms and almost touch the building on the other side. I could feel the panic building up inside me. I don’t like feeling closed or hot or lost! The feeling of nervousness mixed with the heat of the day made me feel relaxed! I put my hand against the wall in front of me to steady myself and touched something that protruded slightly from the building.
It was a kind of stone tablet, with a cross and the word NIKA carved into the stone. “NIKA means victory”, I said. The word and the meaning came out of the hidden corners of my mind. I remember studying this Greek word a long time ago.
In an instant I knew what this ancient stone was. We stumbled unhappily to the Via Dolorosa, Latin. It is believed that Jesus made his way to Calvary carrying his cross. Our little group of women pilgrims stood in front of the Eighth Station of the Cross!
We were unknowingly walking the path that our Savior took two thousand years ago as He carried His instrument of death to Calvary!
We were those women
Right there in the middle of the market, the noise, the smell, the heat and the crowd of strange faces was the Way of the Cross! Because of my early religious background, I could remember the eighth station on the Via Dolorosa. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem.
At this point, I was completely blown away by the divine appointment that brought us to this particular place!
As Jesus was on his way to his death, a group of women met him and were mourning. Jesus tells them not to weep for them but for themselves and their children. As the days come, it will be very difficult for them. He felt great love and compassion for him even though he was only a few steps away from his own death. You can read about this account in Luke 23:28.
We were just like these women. We were out to meet our Lord, and we were strengthened
Finding a grave
When we finally found the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, it was dark and horribly hot, but thankfully, the church wasn’t overcrowded.
How can I ever explain this church? It was like a castle, almost the size of a football field. I had nothing like a church, a Calvary, or a garden tomb.
The church was topped with ornate oil lanterns in jewel-toned colors and shapes. And the whole huge church fortress smelled like burning oil and incense! There was nothing western or familiar about the place. It was ancient, oriental and conservative!
We proceeded to an area in the large church complex that is traditionally believed to be the tomb where Jesus was buried. Of course, it looked nothing like a garden or a tomb. It was a small basilica inside the big castle church – a church within a church!
I decided to sit on a bench near the church’s tomb opening to reflect and transport myself to a place of worship. My sister-in-law sat with me. I spent a lot of time crying silently. Every fiber of my being was raw with emotion, and I was exhausted.
I was overcome by the intensity of it all. I focused on Jesus’ supreme sacrifice for me and the extreme and glorious gift of eternal life at my God’s expense—and it pierced my heart!
Before the church closed for the night, four American women in holy clothes lined up to enter the tomb. In the Holy Sepulcher. There are some things about the visit to the grave that I still want to keep locked away in my heart. Things that I ponder and treasure. Things I don’t want to share because if I do, I’m afraid it will slip out of my mouth and float away into thin air, and I won’t be able to get it back inside me! Things between God and me!
But you must know this…
Inside the tomb
I was in the inner tomb. Inside, you can see that we were in a real cave, where they put the body of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a small, cramped space. Only two people can sit at a time. I am tall and cannot stand straight. It was a real tomb.
I bowed to the stone slab where my Lord’s body once lay. I wrapped my arms around him and laid my cheek against him, and the thirsty stone drank my tears!
The tomb was empty! Jesus was not there!
Again, I thought of some of the women two thousand years ago who came to this tomb early Sunday morning looking for Jesus, and found them empty too!
An angel met him and said. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here. HE
He is risen, indeed! Amen and Amen!
Happy resurrection day.
