Swiss police identified two bodies on an Alpine glacier recently. Marcelin Dumoulin and his wife, Francine, were 40 & 37 respectively, when they went missing. But this was no simple missing persons case – they had disappeared on Aug. 15, 1942, nearly 75 years ago!
Amazingly, the bodies were perfectly preserved, lying next to each other in the ice. Police believe they likely fell into a crevasse. The family reported that rescue teams had searched for 2 months back in 1942, but with no success.
Due to warming, the Swiss regional police say that, as glaciers retreat, several missing person cases are being resolved. The ice has preserved, stuck in time, those who have died. The Dumoulin family is relieved to finally have closure.
When people go missing, it is traumatic for the family. There are many questions that are left unanswered. That is why funerals are so special – a moment of closure for the family.
But there is one famous person whose body went missing and His family took great comfort from the lack of a body! His name was Jesus, and His empty tomb makes all the difference. It makes Christianity unique. There is no body!
In fact, it isn’t the followers of Christ who look for His body today; rather, it is His detractors. Non-believers hold a belief that His body will be found. But the body isn’t there, it never will be, and that’s good for Christianity.
The lack of a body causes consternation for critics, but the facts are irrefutable. The Roman soldiers knew it; the Jewish authorities knew it; and the disciples and eyewitnesses knew it. Jesus rose from the grave, showed Himself to many eyewitnesses, and went to heaven.
Jesus’ family, the church, takes great joy and comfort knowing that there was no body. It is the foundation of the faith. He overcame death, and those who are in Him will too. “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Though funerals are good for earthly closure, I look forward to a better day…and I hope you do too.
