Contemporary Stations - Station Fourteen, Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

Dead, removed from the cross, placed into a tomb.

Finished. The End.

I didn't want to write this station, didn't want it to be finished. And yet I realized while I pondered this station that this isn't the end, the Tomb is merely the beginning. The Tomb is absolutely everything to Christianity. Oh it is fine to acknowledge Advent and Christmas and Epiphany for without the birth there would be no story. The life of Jesus is hugely important, the words of his teachings and the example of his walk teach all Christians today how to follow in the footstep of Jesus Christ. His arrest and suffering and the death on the cross are of course the representation of the ultimate sacrifice of love ... the love of God for his sin-filled people, His righteousness. However, it is the tomb that is the pivotal crescendo of the Christian love song for that is what separates us as Christians from all other religions in the world - our belief in a LIVING Lord God and Savior Redeemer.

The Tomb is where the resurrection took place and the beginning of Christ's forty days on earth before his ascension. The Tomb is not the end of the story ... the Tomb is the beginning.

Father God, may I cling to the faith and promise that is present in the tomb when I am walking the lonely path of grief, pain, and suffering. Father God, may I hold close to my heart the fulfillment of grace and love that was brought to me via the tomb by Jesus Christ. Father God, may I remember each and every day to claim the victory that Christ has given to me.