Good question! It comes in the last chapter of St Marks gospel when the women go to the tomb early in the morning to complete their acts of love, respect and custom for the body of Jesus.
As they hurry along they are absorbed by this question for they do not have the strength to move it and the stone was very big. But when they arrive they see it has already been moved and there is a young man in a white robe seated there who astonishes them. You are looking for Jesus he is not here he is going ahead of you to Galilee. Originally the gospel ended there with the women running away frightened out of their wits and saying nothing to anyone. (A later editor couldnt believe that Mark intended such a stark ending and thought some sentences must have been lost, so he added a softer closing more in line with the other evangelists, thereby distorting Marks message.)
That stone is what separates the promise of new life from the dead weight of the limitations we impose on ourselves by our fear of the unknown. We operate within safe boundaries, customs and traditions. We cannot see that peace can flow like a river (Isaiah 49:18) if we can only make a jump of imagination from where we are now to where we could be. Mark is not condemning these women. He is just saying they are you and me. It is all so typical, so predictable. When we set out to do something we are just overwhelmed by the difficulties we feel there will be in our way. They are all very big.
The problem is this is all so paralysing that we end up only seeing the difficulties. One commentator on the present climate change crisis said, They [The EU and the US] are negotiating for themselves and not humanity. They cannot see beyond their own problems and so are closed to the possibility of a breakthrough. All they can see is the big stone.
And we could apply this to our own long suffering country as we enter yet another new year with the stone firmly in place. At least one of the parties in government too is negotiating for themselves and not humanity. The season of Advent and Christmas is taut with hope. It is not a casual lets hope someone has removed the stone, but a vibrant longing and a setting out on a seemingly impossible task, just like those women. If only we could be like them we might just find someone has indeed removed the stone. It could still be frightening and confusing but at least we have done something.
Post published in: Opinions