April 7, 2007 At Saint Mark Church in Norman, OK
Luke 24: 1-12
It seemed so immovable. Rolled in place and set with a seal, that stone was there to stay. So, they thought, but not everyone thought so. Therein lies the news we share tonight. Those women did not think it was there to stay. Heading off to the tomb, they are wondering who would help roll it away.
We have our own versions of that stone in our lives. Every one of us here has felt what it’s like to be in a tomb: what it’s like to have a big stone in our way, what it’s like to be trapped, blocked, or held back from something we want, need or have dreamed of.
We have stones of resentment, long nurtured injuries that keep us entombed in bitterness or anger and rob us of Joy. We have stones of the past, mistakes we’ve made, failures, disappointments, and broken dreams that rob us of Joy. We have stones of self-doubt and depression, stones of old memories and shadows of a past that haunt us and steal our Joy. We have the stones of ignorance and prejudice, unbelief and doubt, stones of fear and timidity, stones of independence and stubbornness that have been in our way, blocked our growth, and stifled the work of the Spirit.
But we are here, all of us because those stones have not been as permanent as we thought. A glimmer of light as dim as a candle shines into the darkness of all that stuff with a flicker of hope that gives us reason to think like the women of this Gospel that someone will roll back those stones.
We are in this holy place, priests and deacon, sponsors, baptized and confirmed, children and grandparents, friends and neighbors all because someone has rolled back the stones that have kept us apart, kept us in the dark, and kept us from the light of a resurrection day.
The story of these women is our best news, and they are great teachers,
for they came to that tomb in hope and certain that someone would roll back the stone that kept them from Jesus. Little did they know along the way what it might all mean and what would happen when they found the stone rolled back and what they would become because of it.It shall not be different for us. The stones have to go. Expect that they will, be confident that by your hope and by the power of Life itself in Jesus Christ all the stones will roll away.
This is the news we share this night. This is the way we walk to the tombs that darkness, sin, and Satan may have prepared for us: singing the Alleluia of Life itself. Walk together, stay together, preserve the oneness of this holy night. I believe that they found that empty tomb and then found the Risen Lord because of their oneness, because the sin and sadness of death, the violence, hatred, anger, power, and envy of the days before did not break them apart, scatter them in weakness, nor destroy the bond and unity for which Jesus had prayed just before his death.
It shall be so for us. Stay together – that is the essence of “church.” Look at the ministers at this altar. It is a vision of the church. Three continents, cultures, colors, and people all one in Christ’s church. In that unity, no stone stays put, not stone is too heavy, no stone can keep us from the risen Christ.
Be Joyful, Be confident, Be grateful. Be faithful. Christ is risen, and we shall rise again with him by the power of His Spirit.