No Bones About It

Sermon: Easter

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

  

Abraham Lincoln was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. In the years following his death, attempts were made to steal his body and hold it for ransom. Around 1900, Robert Todd Lincoln decided that, in an attempt to prevent body theft, it was necessary to build a permanent crypt for his father. On Sept. 26, 1901, Lincoln's body was exhumed so it could be re-entered in the newly built sarcophagus. However, the 23 people present for the relocation of Lincoln's body feared that his body might have been stolen in the intervening years, so they decided to open the coffin and check.

Lincoln's body was almost perfectly preserved. It had been embalmed so many times following his death that his body had not decayed. In fact he was easily recognizable, even more than 30 years after his death. His face was melancholy, and the black suit he wore during his second inauguration was well-preserved. On his chest they could see the red, white and blue specks—remnants of the American flag with which he was buried, which by then had disintegrated.

Lincoln's coffin is encased in 4,000 pounds of concrete 10 feet deep, surrounded by a cage, and buried beneath a rock slab. His tomb is visited by more than 1,000,000 people a year.

Tombs are constructed for various reasons and designed in different shapes and sizes. Some tombs are national shrines. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument in Arlington National Cemetery dedicated to the American soldiers who have died without their remains being identified.

Some tombs are magnificent mausoleums. The Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the world. Shah Jahan commissioned it as the mausoleum for his favorite wife, Mamtaz. She died during the birth of their daughter Gauhara, their 14th child.

There are some tombs that are impressive. Napoleon's tomb lies in an ornate church built by King Louis XIV. Emperor Napoleon lies in an elaborate encasement of six coffins built from different materials including mahogany, ebony and oak, one inside the other. A dozen statues of victory frame the dramatic scene.

On the other hand, the Duke of Wellington's body lies inside a massive sarcophagus in St. Paul's Cathedral in England. He is fully dressed in his military regalia in honor of his victory over Napoleon.

Other tombs are magnetic. The tomb of Lenin was a massive structure and absolute silence must be maintained when passing through. Twenty-four hours a day seven days a week thousands of people lined up to view the remains of Lenin. He was enclosed in a glass viewing case. He was well preserved and his left hand can pass for polished wax. In 1989, when communism crumbled, Lenin was taken out of his glass cinerarium and carried to a field and buried like a pauper.

All these tombs are visited by millions of people because their skeletal remains are still in these graves. Whether crypts, mausoleums, sarcophagi, ossuaries, caskets or graves, the one thing they all have in common is they all have bones in them.