“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, but we don’t know where they have laid Him.” John 20:2

“Though being in the very nature of God, emptied Himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross.”  Philippians 2

What are you filled with on Easter?  Possible answers on the spiritual side might include joy, happiness, love, or gratefulness.  On the physical side we might answer, ham, lamb, candy, pancakes, or eggs.

What are you emptied of on Easter?  This question might be more difficult to answer. 

For all of the emphasis on indulging oneself (after all, Easter used to mark the traditional end to the Lenten fast), the obvious, though overlooked, symbolism of Easter is emptiness. 

The cross is empty.  There is no body ON it.

The tomb is empty.  There is no body IN it.

The women and disciples are empty.  There is no explanation FOR it.

The message of Easter is one of emptiness.  Jesus emptied Himself not only of His divine power and glory, but also of His self-will to accomplish crucifixion and resurrection.  And His invitation to us is to do something similar by emptying ourselves as well.  “Whoever desires to come after Me must deny themselves and take up their cross.”  In other words, in order to be filled we must be emptied.  It is yet another great paradox of spiritual life. One that is not by any means unique to the Christian Faith.

Buddhism teaches detachment, not only from material things but also from the negative emotions of anger, greed and lust that hinder the path to enlightenment.  In Hinduism there is the teaching of “moksha”, which is the release of ego and uniting with the Supreme.  The ancient Celts believed in putting themselves in the hands of Brigid, symbolizing placing themselves in the hands of another to be shaped.  All of these are different expressions of the same idea: Emptying of Self.

But what does it mean to deny, or be empty of Self?  I used to think it meant that we had to do something special to show our dedication to God.  Like pray more fervently, serve more sacrificially, denounce all sorts of sins and delights—especially during Lent—to prove our dedication.  That is a common misconception among followers of Christ. And it usually leads to pride and false piety; personally, my pet-peeve.  Emptying Self is much easier to explain, yet more difficult to attain.  It means, quite simply, to crucify one’s ego.

Ego is what drives us to be someone, or something that we are not. It is deceptive and disingenuous.  Ego denies that we are good enough as we are, as God has made us.  Ego tells us that because others don’t love us just as we are, then God can’t either.  Ego feeds our false self, covering us with a cloak of illusion and delusion.  We accumulate, we accomplish, we covet accolades, all in the hopes that somehow, someway, we will be found acceptable.  It is a feeble attempt to use trinkets and trash to take the place of true treasure.  Ultimately it just doesn’t work.  It leaves us feeling empty and unsatisfied, like eating cotton candy and caramel apples at the carnival.  We end up sick spiritually, and at heart.

And so, like Jesus, like the cross, like the tomb, we need to be empty.  So that we can be filled.  In a satisfying way.  Filled with Christ.  Filled with the Spirit.  Filled with genuine spirituality.  Filled with the best of the resurrected life.  Filled with Life itself.  Not MY false, temporary, and terribly unsatisfactory life, but the life of the Risen Lord.

Sometimes it takes a major life disruption, like death, illness, divorce, or some other destructive force, like a crucifixion.  Sometimes it takes facing a situation that is beyond our ability to control or cope with or understand, like an empty tomb.  Sometimes it takes an encounter with something that is so much bigger than we are that we are brought to our knees in humility, like seeing the Risen Lord.  Whatever it is, it is life-changing, or better said, life-giving.  Like the Velveteen Rabbit, we become REAL.  It is like experiencing our death, in order to experience life. And so, I wish you a very empty . . . and fulfilling Easter!