The Wrong Question

 

Holy SaturdayAt the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter

Genesis 1:1-2:2; 22:1-18; Exodus 14:15-15:1; Isaiah 54:5-14; 55:1-11; Baruch 3:9-15, 32-4:4; Ezekiel 36:16-28; Romans 6:3-11; Psalm 118; Mark 16:1-7

“Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?”
Mark 16:3

At last!  He is risen!  Alleluia!  Let the celebration begin! 

I have had more than one person remark that Lent seemed longer last year.  My response is that it was.  It stretched into May when we were finally able to return to church and receiving the sacraments.  In a way, Lent has stretched all the way from a year ago to this present moment.  Because we weren’t able to be present for Easter last year it has an extra special sense to it this year.  As we reflect back on what we’ve all been through for the last year it gives us a little insight into what the disciples were experiencing from the Friday of our Lord’s crucifixion until early Sunday morning.

One of my favorite characters in the Easter story is Mary Magdalen.  She’s my favorite because she’s so faithful.  She followed the Lord all the way to the cross, watched as He was buried, and then returned early Sunday morning.  None of the apostles were doing that.  But she did.  And for her faithfulness she is rewarded with being the first person to see our Lord alive after His crucifixion.  As such, she became the apostle to the apostles.  She was the one bringing them the good news that He is risen.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  For there’s something here that bears reflection.  St. Mark records that Mary is accompanied by some other women.  As they are approaching the tomb of our Lord they begin to wonder who will roll back the stone.  None of them are strong enough to do so.  Even all of them put together cannot do it.  It’s as if they realize they’ve had this great idea to come and anoint the body of Jesus but none of them thought about the very practical reality of how they would get into the tomb. 

In St. John’s Gospel it reads a bit different but the general idea is the same.  John only records Mary herself as going to the tomb.  When she arrives she sees that it is open and the body of Jesus is gone.  She naturally suspects the worst and runs to tell the apostles.  Peter and John run to the tomb to find it as she said.  They leave, but Mary remains.  Then she meets someone whom she supposes to be the gardener and assumes he must be responsible for having taken the body.  She asks him to show her where the body is and she will take care of it.  It is only at this point when the man calls her by name that she realizes it is Jesus Himself.

In both renditions Mary has a very natural reaction and quickly searches for an answer.  However, she is only relying on her own understanding and resources.  She is asking the wrong question.  For to the question, “Who will roll away the stone,” the answer is that it has already been rolled away.  God has taken care of it.  To the search for the Lord’s body she need only open her eyes to see that she does not need to solve a riddle or a problem.  The answer literally stands before her.

I think that the Easter story has something to reveal to all of us in this same way.

We come to this day with our own problems.  We naturally search for answers according to our own understanding and resources.  But we haven’t really factored God into the equation.  Even our praying is often rehearsing our own fears, anxieties, or possible solutions.  What we really need to do is simply present the problem to the Lord and then abandon ourselves to His answer.

Sounds simple.  But it’s so very difficult.  Why?  Because we lack faith.  Think about it; if we truly believe that Jesus rose from the dead then why is it such a struggle to believe that He will provide a solution for the things we are facing? 

We have heard the story on this night how God was preparing for this moment since the dawn of time.  God, infinitely wise, knew how it would all come about.  He knows the same for our circumstances and He has been planning for the solution for the same amount of time.  The Easter story reminds us that nothing is impossible for God and that we need to abandon the death and grave of our own mindset to enter into the new resurrection life that He is bringing us.

What “stone” are you fussing over today?  Stop worrying.  The Lord already has a plan in mind.  He will roll away the stone.  And when He does there will not be the stench of death, but the glory of resurrection life!  So go inside.  Take a look around.  “He has been raised; he is not here… He is going before you… there you will see him.”