“Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.” (JN 20:1)  On this Easter Sunday, this is how John’s Gospel begins.  But why would Jesus need to remove the stone?  Couldn’t He have just walked out without having the stone rolled back?

    Even though we profess our faith each Sunday, that Jesus “rose again on the third day”, we often have questions that come to mind.  We are all at different stages of development in our faith and these questions may give us reason to doubt our convictions but they are often invitations from God, inviting us to delve much deeper for the answers.  Jesus taught His disciples with the use of parables.  He did not simply give them the answers because the answers would be too difficult to comprehend without considerable contemplation and growth in understanding.  The example of the stone having been rolled back is just another of so many examples of God allowing us to see just a little bit more of His plan.  It was merely for the witness of those who were there and, through their telling of the story, for us.  Not because Jesus needed the stone to be rolled back but in order that they/we might come to believe.

    So on this Easter Sunday, let us Celebrate our Lord’s victory over death but let this also be a further invitation to each of us to seek the many ways God reveals Himself to us in our lives.  Christ is Risen!   Amen!