Roll The Stone Away

A Reflection on the Gospel for April 21st, 2019:
Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of the Lord

John 20.1-9 (shorter version) 

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

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The Gospel for this coming Sunday—Easter Sunday—is set at the tomb of Jesus. For as long as I can remember, I’ve imagined the tomb of Jesus as a simple chamber hewn out of rock and sealed by an enormous stone disk rolled in front of the entrance. Recently I began to wonder just how accurate that image was, so I started reading up on tomb construction in the time of Jesus. I learned many fascinating bits of information, including the fact that the stone disk is called a rolling stone and that the mechanics of situating a rolling stone in place to close a tomb is quite a bit more complicated than I realized.

In those days, tombs were designed to be opened and closed each time a new deceased family member was to be laid to rest. When the tomb was open, the stone sat to the side of the entrance, at the top of a downward sloping channel that passed immediately in front of the entrance (imagine a child sitting at the top of a short playground slide). To seal the entrance, men would push the stone, causing it to roll down the slope and come to rest in a small depression at the other end of the channel in front of the entrance. Each stone weighed about three tonnes, so opening the tomb by rolling the stone uphill took some considerable strength.1

This interesting discovery has given me three important gifts, which have helped me appreciate better this Gospel and my own faith life. First, this discovery allowed me to see how ridiculous it is for anyone to suggest that, rather than dying and rising, Jesus was entombed alive and, three days later, recovered sufficiently from a Roman crucifixion to roll a three-tonne stone uphill—from inside the tomb—and make His escape. Second, contemplating the rolling of stones uphill reminds me of the many times I, in my stubborn self-sufficiency, tried to roll a mighty stone uphill (the uphill battle) and finally had to turn to the risen Christ who, in His infinite power, rolled the stone away as if it were nothing. Third, it makes me feel close to Mary Magdalene who, later in this Gospel passage, recognizes Jesus as Rabbouni--her Master.

Let us Pray:
Lord, may I turn to You in my uphill battles. May I trust You to clear aside the stones in my path. And may I, though undeserving in every way, always find a place to sit at Your feet and learn from You, my Master. ​

Donna Davis

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1 Some scholars challenge the idea that the sealing stone at Jesus’ tomb was disk-shaped, asserting instead that it was square and cork-shaped. Nonetheless, in this reflection, I’m adhering to the disc hypothesis, which makes for a better metaphor.

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