THE STONE ROLLED AWAY

A REFLECTION FOR EASTER SUNDAY

On the first Easter Sunday morning, two women headed to the sepulcher where Jesus had been interred after he was taken down from the Cross.  Their purpose was to complete the burial rituals that had been cut short by the Friday sunset and the start of the Sabbath.  Now the Jewish holy day was over and they could finish up their sad religious observances.

On the way to the tomb, they knew they were going to have a problem.  A great stone had been rolled in front of the entrance to the Holy Sepulcher in order to prevent anyone from removing Christ’s body and claiming he had risen from the dead.  How were they, two women, going to get into the tomb to anoint the body?

But instead of going to the twelve apostles for help, the two women continued their pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher.  There, instead of encountering the insurmountable problem they had anticipated, they found that the great stone had already been moved away from the tomb’s entrance and they were able to enter unimpeded.  The Gospel never addresses the question of who it was that moved the stone out of the way, and we are left to wonder.

Was it an angel?  Or simply the mighty hand of God?  I think back to the words of our Lord just a week ago, as he entered into Jerusalem amid the frenzied shouts of “Hosanna” from the crowds.  The disciples had been scared by the tumult, fearing to attract the attention of the Pharisees who were already plotting Christ’s death.  They had begged our Lord to silence the multitude, but he had rebuked them, saying that even if they were silent, the very stones of the earth would call out.  On Good Friday, as our Lord died on the Cross, the stones of the earth did indeed cry out, as the whole of nature rebelled against the infamous cruelty being perpetrated on its Creator.  They stones of the earth moved, and the earth gave up her dead that day.  People long deceased were seen walking the streets of Jerusalem, a foreshadowing of the resurrection of the body at the end of time, and of our Lord’s own Resurrection in three days.

While we may marvel at the idea, we should not be surprised that the stone at Christ’s tomb had moved.  In the face of such momentous events surrounding the death and resurrection of the Maker of all things, it was to be expected that even these inanimate objects would rebel against the laws that kept them in their place.  Modernists would have us believe that today’s great pandemic is a punishment from nature because of our disregard for climate change.  Catholics believe rather that it is nature’s rebellion against the flaunting of God’s laws so prevalent today.  It is a rebellion that will continue if mankind continues on its path to perdition.  But if we obey God’s laws and have faith like the two women, we will conquer all adversity, and all obstacles to our salvation will be rolled away.