Empty

Philip was born with Down syndrome and attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several other eight-year-olds. The other kids were not sure how to interact with him, so he was always on the outside. But on Easter Sunday, they learned a special lesson from him, endearing him to them.

The teacher brought large plastic egg containers and gave one to each child. He told them to go outside and find a symbol for new life, and put it in the container. Back in the classroom, the teacher opened the egg and showed what the students found, and they would explain how it symbolized new life.

After running around the church property excitedly collecting treasures, the students returned to the classroom with their plastic eggs. Surrounded by the kids, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether a flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh. Then one was opened, but nothing was inside.

One kid exclaimed, “That’s stupid. Somebody didn't do it.” Philip spoke up, "That's mine."

“Philip, you didn’t do it right!" the student retorted. “There's nothing there!”

“I did so do it," Philip insisted. "I did do it. It's empty. Jesus’ tomb was empty!” And the whole class understood.

Philip died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off. At the funeral, his class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar…not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each setting down an empty plastic egg.

I know that’s a sweet story of a precious holiday that most of us enjoy. But there is more to it.

Think of Philip’s parents. They struggled through the news of their newborn having a serious handicap. Their hearts were broken when he struggled making friends. And imagine the grief following his death.

For them, this is more than a fond memory of their precious child. It tells of a limited young boy who was able to grasp and have faith in the most important event in history — one that provided for him eternal life.

Those empty eggs on the altar reminded grieving parents that he was not in his casket. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, he was given a new life. And one that was not hampered by the limitations of human disability. It was a message Phillip gave to third-grade children, who in turn, passed it on to his now grieving parents.

“I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25 NLT).