16 When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
Mark 16:1-4
Yesterday we celebrated Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Jesus. The sermon I listened to pointed out that this is the only resurrection in the Bible where there is no living body as proof. Elijah raised the son of the Shunamite who had died and she hugged the boy. Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus and the parents hugged her. Jesus raised the deceased son of the widow of Nain and the community saw and rejoiced. Jesus called forth Lazarus from the grave after four days and he was unbound and welcomed back to the living. These women arrived at the tomb not expecting a resurrection but a stone blocking their way.They were focused on the need to apply ointments to Jesus’ body and finish the burial traditions. As these women came to the tomb with their questions and their spices, the saw with their eyes that something was out of place. The stone had been moved. And there was no body.
For the next 40 days, the Easter season, we ponder proofs that Jesus is alive and not just a stolen body. In 40 days we will celebrate ascension when he goes back to heaven and then we celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit but right now we are focused on proofs that Jesus is risen. And I would suggest that like those women we too come daily with questions for our faith. Somehow we always anticipate that there will be a stone blocking our ability to see clearly the Lord we want to be in relationship with.
Perhaps we are worrying about finances and bills. Perhaps we are worrying about health. There is always that one relative or friend that is heavy on our heart. And the Evil One loves to whisper questions in our ears that challenge our faith. The wants seem to outweigh the haves and we lose sight of the blessings. Let us take a moment right now to name the stone that we are worrying about in our relationship with the Lord. In the next 40 days how might we be trying to see God’s hand in our lives? Blessings as you become more aware of his presence.
On the Way to Wonder 