Mark 16:1-7: a reflection

1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back. 5Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 6He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him! 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”

Very early on the first morning of the week, the women come to Jesus' tomb to anoint his body, carrying their spices and their grief. And they are worried about a practical problem: Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? It was very large, far too heavy for them. But when they look up, they see that the obstacle they dreaded has already been dealt with: the stone had already been rolled back. And inside, a messenger tells them the greater news: He has risen; he is not here.

Notice the obstacle they feared and its resolution. The women came anxious about the stone, a real and heavy problem they had no power to solve. And they found it already rolled away before they arrived; God had gone ahead of them and removed the very obstacle they dreaded. Their worry, it turned out, had been about something already handled. And beyond the moved stone lay a joy they had not even dared to hope for: the tomb was empty, and Christ was risen.

Both speak to us. Often we approach our troubles like the women approached the tomb, anxious about obstacles that loom too large for us, the stone we cannot move. And often we find, when we get there, that God has already gone ahead and dealt with what we feared; the obstacle that filled us with worry is already rolled away. Do not let dread of the stone consume you; the God who goes before you may already have moved it. And remember what lay beyond the stone: resurrection, the joy that outstripped every fear. Trust the God who rolls away stones, and who brings, beyond the obstacles we dread, a hope greater than we imagined.

Lord, the women came to the tomb worried about who would roll away the heavy stone, only to find it already rolled back, and beyond it the joy of the empty tomb and the risen Christ. When I approach my troubles anxious about obstacles too large for me to move, the stones I cannot budge, remind me that you go before me and may already have dealt with what I dread. Keep me from letting fear of the stone consume me. And remind me what lay beyond it: resurrection, a hope greater than every fear. Help me trust the God who rolls away stones, and who brings, beyond the obstacles I dread, a joy I could not have imagined. You are risen; nothing I fear is beyond your power to move.