Easter Sunday: “The Stone”

Scripture Reading

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

(Matthew 28:1-6)

Take With You

Jesus’ tomb was sealed with intention.

A massive stone was rolled across its entrance. Roman guards were stationed outside.

A wax seal, an official mark of authority and finality, was pressed into place. It was a declaration from both religious and political powers: this story is over. No one was getting in. Nothing was changing. Jesus was finished. But early Sunday morning, the stone was torn away. The ground shook. What humanity had declared closed, God opened.

Jesus had risen from the dead. The stone was not moved so he could escape, but so the world could see. Death had become a doorway. What looked like a devastating end was revealed as the beginning of new life. The resurrection proclaims that nothing can stop God’s love; not empires, not guards, not seals, not even death itself.