“And behold, there was a great earthquake: the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the door and sat on it …And the angel answered and said unto the women, fear not for behold I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here. He is risen. – Matthew 28:1-6.
The stone was indeed rolled away on a morning many, many years ago, bringing with it the dawning of a new day, both for those who lived during Christ’s time and for all of us who have come afterward.
It is, in many ways, what Easter signifies:y, the promise of new beginnings and the hope of rebirth, a second chance for us all.
For Christians, Easter is also a reminder of the gift that God provided — his son — and the greater gift that Jesus gave: his life for all our sins, a debt only he could pay.
And most importantly, perhaps, Easter, for Christians, signifies the resurrection and the promise of eternal life for all those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives, the promise that came with the rolling away of the stone and the risen Christ who stepped from the tomb, a fulfilment of God’s word.
With the rolling away of the stone came the opportunity for us to lift the heavy burdens from our own lives — burdens of hatred, greed, lust, despair, apathy, envy and grief. And for years, we’ve used this Easter Sunday editorial as a means of hopefully encouraging readers to stop and think about the part each of us may play now in rolling that stone back in front of the tomb, shutting out the Jesus who taught love and tolerance, compassion and understanding.
We do so again today, with an updated zeal for urging each of us to examine our lives so we see more clearly the stones we so casually toss back in front of that tomb, shutting Christ out of our decisions as we go about living our lives without any thought to the compassion he urged, the love he so adamantly instructed us to show to everyone.
What about the stone of hatred? In our attempts to uphold our own beliefs, have we found reasons to hate those who are not like us, using, at times, our own faith as our reason for doing so? Do we hate our neighbors because of the choices they’ve made for their own lives? Aren’t we called to detest those things we see as sin but love those who sin? Aren’t we admonished not to cast the first stone but rather to be the example others might follow?
What about hatred of those in differing political parties? Do we feel so strongly about the party that most represents our beliefs that we loathe people who are on the other side? Have we stretched beyond dislike of the party to a dislike of our neighbors, our families, our friends? Is that what Jesus did when he walked the earth? Do we take on the mind and heart of Christ or toss it aside to defend party over everything? Is that a stone we are rolling back in front of the tomb, shutting Jesus out of our lives?
How about those from other cultures, surviving on public funds or living from paycheck to paycheck — do we judge them, see them as lesser citizens, thorns in the side of those of us fortunate enough to have a job, drive a car and pay our own bills? If so, that’s another stone.
Have we moved the stone of apathy back against the tomb? Is it possible we simply don’t care about anything beyond what impacts our own little world? Are we indifferent and unconcerned about the plight of others? Do we care about the poor, and do we reach out a helping hand? Do we care about the environment and do our part to keep it clean? Or have we left it to others?
If so, that’s a stone.
What about greed? Do we covet what others have? Do we seek ways to get what we want no matter the cost? One more stone.
What are the stones you are putting back in front of the tomb?
For most of us, there are many, and it seems we pile them up at a rapid pace, placing one against another, against another.
Perhaps this Easter, we should take the time to consider the stones we have rolled against that tomb and commit ourselves to removing them one by one, once and for all.