He Still Moves Stones

“They were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, ‘Who will roll away the stone?’” Mark 16:2-3.

‘On their way to the tomb…’ a haunting phrase and a harrowing walk. The two Mary’s walked a path they never thought they would walk. They were forced to consider things that were nowhere on their radar. They considered the future with questions and uncertainty, ‘Who will roll away the stone?’

This is the battle cry for Griefshare as session upon session I watch the participants drag their bodies in one by one, asking ‘Who will take away the pain?’ The light in their eyes has been replaced with a distant vacancy, and their hearts beat with ‘what if’s and if only’s.' They are searching for anything and everything that will bring healing to their lives and comfort to their souls. But how can comfort be present when the tombs are being revisited? How can healing come when hope itself feels as if it has been laid to rest? How can the tomb be viewed through the lens of resurrection instead of death?

I am always blessed and amazed at the spiritual work accomplished by these brave souls between the ‘cross and the empty tomb’…the broken heart and the healing heart. It is a long walk just as the two Mary’s experienced. There are discussions along the journey recounting, remembering and reminiscing. There are tears and fears, anger and guilt that litter the path to the destination. But, at the base of all of these emotions is the seed of hope that at the end of the path the stone will be removed…hearts will heal and lives will be restored…a devastated life will be replaced with a resurrected truth. ‘He is not here; He has risen!’ Luke 24:6. Much like the Mary’s, they are not even aware of the progress they are making on the path.

As the 13 class session comes to a close, I can see the light in their eyes and hope in their hearts as they fix their eyes upon the future. They catch glimpses up ahead of an open tomb with an empty grave. They realize that their loved ones are not dead but more alive than they ever were here in this temporary dwelling place full of suffering.

They walk out trusting in the One who conquered the grave and rolled away the stone. 'Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.' Isaiah 50:10.

Their faith shifts from 'Who will roll away the stone' to 'He has rolled away the stone!'