The Stone Removed

“On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.”

John 20:1

Alleluia! Jesus is risen! He is truly risen! The Paschal Lamb that was slain for us and whose blood washes us clean is risen and He dies no more. What a joyous day! Death has been conquered and Jesus has the final say. And we, Christians, who have been baptized in Christ and in His death, will also share in His Resurrection.

When Mary of Magdala went to the tomb to visit Jesus she found that the stone covering His tomb had been rolled over. She immediately thought someone had stolen Jesus’s body. So, what does she do? She runs to Peter. Here we can see that Peter has a special role in the life of the community then, and hence we say Peter is the first Pope and all the popes that came after were successors of St. Peter. There is a primacy that is given to Peter and his office. We can see this in the Gospels. Jesus first calls Peter before any other Apostles. Jesus brings Peter with Him wherever He goes — up the mountain where He was transfigured and to the Garden of Gethsemane. And now, after Jesus has died, when problems arise, they go to Peter, the visible head of the Church and representative of Jesus. After Mary tells Peter and John about the stone being rolled over, they run to the tomb. Why? Did they run because they wanted to see if the tomb was really empty? Did they run because they thought somebody stole the body? Did they not believe Jesus’s word that He would rise on the third day? So, why did they run?

Perhaps they ran because they were hoping to see Jesus there, but instead they found some burial cloths. If Mary came to us today and told us the same thing, what would we do? Would we run? Would be doubt and question? Would we run to see the empty tomb and rejoice in the Lord’s triumph over sin and death? The stone from Jesus’s tomb was removed so that the disciples might come to see and believe. What are the stones in our lives that remain unturned that keep us from seeing Christ and believing in Him? Jesus wants to roll them away just as the stone from His tomb was removed. Let us allow Jesus to remove the stones that close us off so that we might gaze into the empty tomb and come to believe. And may we exclaim, “Alleluia! He is risen!”

Happy Easter to you!

For a Easter homily I wrote and delivered last year, click here.