The Stone and Love

As I’ve said before, one way to try and make sense of the gospels is to put yourself into them, to be at the scene. John’s gospel account today lends itself well to that: Not finding Jesus, Mary wonders what happened; Peter, hearing from her that Jesus isn’t there, runs to the tomb and rushes in to see for himself; John, breathless, peers into the empty tomb and believes.

Yet, everything that happened after Mary arrived at the tomb depended on the one thing I couldn’t understand: Why was the stone rolled away?

Being God, Jesus certainly didn’t need it moved. His glorified body will soon be passing through locked doors as if they aren’t there, suddenly appearing or disappearing, and ascending into the heavens. The stone was no obstacle to him.

Then it occurred to me… it was an obstacle to us. If the stone hadn’t been rolled back, Mary wouldn’t have searched for an answer, Peter wouldn’t have rushed in, and John wouldn’t have believed. The stone wasn’t rolled away for the Lord’s sake; it was rolled away for ours.

Still, the people in the story didn’t have to respond as they did. Mary needn’t have gone to the tomb at all, let alone wondered where the body of Jesus had been taken. Peter and John could’ve stayed where they were and kept doing whatever they were doing.

But they didn’t. Why? Love.

Mary Magdalene loved Jesus because he had healed her and turned her life around. Love doesn’t settle; it keeps searching, even when hope seems lost. For his part, Peter might never live down denying Jesus three times, but he had also confessed him as Messiah, the only one to Whom they could go. His is a love that may be imperfect and impetuous, but it moves; it doesn’t hesitate in the face of mystery. And John, so often called the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, shows us by seeing and believing, that the eyes of love recognize truth, even when they don’t fully understand it.

Thus, while Mary, Peter, and John each responded differently, love is the common denominator. The empty tomb evokes not just curiosity; it evokes love’s response.

As for us, this is the time to measure our own love for Christ, and our own willingness to respond. The Resurrection isn’t a mere historical event; it’s a personal invitation. The stone is still rolled back today – not because Jesus needs help getting out, but because we need help getting in: into faith, into hope, into the new life he offers.

Love searches. Love rushes in. Love believes.

—