Easter and Lenin’s Tomb

I vividly remember visiting Lenin’s tomb in August 1967. I had heard that thousands filed past to see the embalmed body of the father of the Russian Revolution but I had not realized how great the number was. Couples on their honeymoon included a visit to the tomb of Lenin in Red Square in Moscow.
A visit to Lenin’s tomb was like a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine for thousands of citizens from all parts of the old USSR. Lenin’s body lay enclosed in a glass case immediately in front of the Kremlin Wall. I could see no end to the long line of people who, hour after hour, day after day, filed past the tomb. The masses of people entered in absolute silence to see the body of their revered leader. Every few feet, soldiers stood guard as the multitudes gazed at the body of their dead hero.
As I watched those crowds in Moscow, I recalled a visit to another tomb, in another city, on another continent. Soldiers once guarded that tomb too. But the body in that tomb remained less than 72 hours. The empty tomb in Jerusalem stands in stark contrast to the one in Moscow, or to the Egyptian pyramids where the mummified bodies of ancient Pharaohs were placed. It is also different from Westminster Abbey in London where the bodies of famous people are buried. And different from Mohammed’s tomb in Mecca which contains the bones of the Prophet.
A Christian and a Muslim flying in the Middle East had adjacent seats on the plane. The Muslim was going to Mecca; the Christian on his way to Israel. The Muslim said, “I feel sorry for you for I am going to Mecca where I can visit the tomb of Mohammed where he is buried. Christians have no such tomb to visit.” The Christian replied: “That is exactly the difference in our faiths. Christ’s tomb is empty. Christ is risen.”
Kenneth McMillan
Thornhill, Ont.