“He is not here; He has risen…” – Luke 24:6

One of the Easter traditions in the United States is the egg hunt, eagerly anticipated by children. I remember the excited chatter of our Sunday School kids as they scavenged the church grounds for surprise-filled eggs. How sweet and delightful were the little chocolates hidden inside those plastic shells. I suppose they tasted even better because of the “hard work” put into finding and collecting them.

I also recall the sounds of disappointment when someone found an empty egg. Who likes an empty plastic egg? After all, the whole adventure was about the sweet candy.

In general, we don’t like emptiness—empty homes, empty pockets, empty purses, empty bank accounts, empty heads, empty souls. Emptiness is usually associated with the absence of something important.

However, it doesn’t always carry a negative meaning. Emptiness—or the absence of something - can also be a blessing in our lives: the absence of traffic violations (a clean record), the absence of debt, the absence of illness, the absence of trauma. Imagine what it means for a patient to hear that their cancer is gone.

This Eastertide, as we journey through Holy Week toward the empty tomb of the Risen Christ, let us reflect on how Christ emptied Himself by His own will (kenosis), submitting to the will of the Father and becoming the sacrificial Lamb for our salvation.

Standing before the empty tomb, let us also empty ourselves of pride, ego, and self-interest, in order to serve others and live in obedience to God.