Legacy of Death

This month we’ve been talking about Legacy, what we leave behind, in memories and money.  Vladimir Lenin has left behind a legacy that he probably wasn’t intending to; an ongoing bill.

Ever since his death in 1924, Lenin’s body has been on display in Moscow.  It was recently revealed that the annual cost to keep Lenin’s embalmed body on display now exceeds a quarter of a million dollars.  The report also indicated that along with replacing the embalming fluid they’ve also had to replace “parts” with plastic and other material.  Parts?  So it’s not even all Lenin they have on display.
Thousands of people a day stand in line to see the tomb and body of the founder of their movement.

If you want you can visit the tombs of others who have founded movements.  Muhamad’s body is located in the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia, the tooth of Buddha can be found in Dalada Maligawa in Sri Lanka and the grave of Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is in his home town of Qufu, Shandong Province, China.

But our faith and hope is based on the fact that there is no tomb or embalmed body of Christ for Christians to visit, because as the angels said “He is not here, He is risen.” Have a great week and remember: To see what is really possible, you will have to attempt the impossible.