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The difference between the “stone cold tomb” (as the Epiphany carol puts it) and the empty tomb is “night and day.”  The watch between Holy Saturday and Easter morn is the contrast between the darkest night and the brightest day.

Before this night all human history ends in night, ends in the tomb.  After this night there is the possibility of human life issuing in endless day.  Easter changes everything.  Jesus changes everything.  Technically, of course, it is the cross that achieves what Luther called the “Great Exchange,” but the cross is the ultimate darkness, the ultimate night, in terms of human history as a dead end, where even the light of day (according to the Gospel accounts themselves) becomes dark as night.  The ultimate night, Good Friday, ends in the death of Life, followed by the three days night of Jesus’ entombment.  Before the dawn of Easter is mankind’s longest and darkest night.  Until this night all human life ends in death.

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