“Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.” Mark 16 (NRSV)
Dear friends,
Before the world could know that the resurrection had occurred a stone had to be rolled away.
This week a team of volunteers were hard at work moving left over stones from the new prayer garden wall off the rectory lawn. There were some quite big ones which were very difficult even for two or three men to move. I helped with one and the struggle caused me to wonder how heavy the stone that was placed in the entrance of Jesus’ tomb must have weighed, and how difficult that must have been to put in position. I am sure it would have needed a few strong people using wooden props to lever it!
That stone in front of Jesus’ tomb was indeed very heavy, and it was firmly set in place. That was necessary to stop grave robbers, as grave clothes and personal items placed in tombs were often of value. But by Sunday morning that weighty stone was about to become a prop in the Easter story that would convey significant meaning, the moving of which would be symbolic of God thwarting human efforts to bury the truth, but more significantly, that the grave was powerless over Jesus. As the cross is the symbol that all our failure and wrong doing has been atoned for, so the stone that was rolled away and the empty tomb shout of the life that Jesus promised to all who welcome him now.
How did it move from the groove into which it was rolled? Did anyone see it happen? Matthew tells us it was an Angel of the Lord who then sat on it as if to labour the point. Luke and John don’t speculate. One thing I am sure of however is that in our spiritual journey of discovering and rediscovering the wonder of the empty tomb, you or I were never intended to pick that stone up and carry it around on our backs. Yet so many Christians do and so live under such a heavy burden.
I am not going to speculate about what that stone might represent to you, but for me it is my need to know that I am doing the right thing; It is my anxiety that I don’t leave anyone behind of those God has given me to care for; it is the knowledge that in my commitment to please God I will occasionally find myself at odds with people I care about. It is the thought of all that lies ahead and what might be required of me, set against my awareness of myself and my limitations. And while I rejoice in the new life that I have received through Christ, these things are the stone that was rolled away from my spiritual tomb, yet which continues to weigh me down as I carry it around in my new life in Christ.
In chapter 11 of Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells his followers, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (NRSV)
Is that such an easy thing to do? It sounds a bit like letting a wee old nun carry piles of stone off my lawn. Is it fair to dump our burdens on the Lamb of God, the Holy One. There is after all much to worry about in these troubling days and we all have responsibilities and people we love and care for. But if we can’t hand our burdens to Jesus, we won’t ever know the life of true liberty that God intends for us.
That Easter stone is not supposed to be on your back! It is meant to be at the side of the tomb, discarded and powerless to hold all who have taken hold of Christ in faith, as a symbol of hope and deliverance.
So be free to live and soar according to God’s will for your life, forgiven, unencumbered, and liberated by Jesus’ death and resurrection, and enjoy a special and happy Easter!
God bless,
Nick
