“Roll Away Your Stone” Sermon for April 1, 2018

Rev. Dave Rohde
Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-19,25; Mark 16:1-8
Friends,
When we remember and celebrate Holy Week today, we recognize what it has become in the church. It’s a rollercoaster. One minute we’re talking about Jesus’ last moments with the disciples, then on to his gruesome death, and then we’re celebrating that he’s no longer dead…the grave is empty. He is Risen!
I often feel like we don’t have enough time to dwell in lows and celebrate the heights of Easter. For those of us who grew up in the church or have spent significant time around it, as incredible as Jesus’ resurrection was and still is, we’re used to it all. But that’s not the case for everyone.
Place yourself in the shoes of someone who is experiencing Easter for the first time, either as someone who witnessed it in the first century or as someone who is hearing it in its entirety afresh today. What questions would you ask? Would you be sad? Surprised? Confused? What sort of stumbling blocks would get in the way?
The reality is, whether we’ve heard the story once or a hundred times, we all have barriers that get in the way of fully experiencing the resurrection. Some of us have heard it so many times that we’re not surprised anymore. Others just can’t wrap our minds around an empty tomb, so we stop trying.
This Easter, I’m inviting each of us to roll away our stones. I’m encouraging us all to admit that there are barriers that get in the way and suggesting that we not shy away from the questions connected to them.
May we be a church that's not afraid of the unknown as we experience the Risen Christ, who is still working in our world today.
Journeying with you,
Pastor Dave
Scripture:
Isaiah 65:17-19
For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.
Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent-its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.