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. The 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. Mark:16:1-4
It is Advent. Advent, the season of waiting and preparing for the birth of Jesus. We get all wrapped up in this season in the birth story. Births are exciting and full of expectation. Who doesn't enjoy the sight of a newborn child; innocent, gurgling, lovingly fun to watch as they learn every day something new. There is, indeed, cause for joy and celebration!
But the story of the birth of Jesus is a different type of birth story. It is a story of God constantly rolling away stones for us.
God is always present and we constantly place stones between us. God acts to patiently roll them away so that we can feel the light of God, know the love of God, live in the kingdom of God. In this Season of Advent, we celebrate God coming, in the birth of Jesus, to share the life we live. If we want to imagine that God is distant; in Jesus that stone has been rolled back. If we want to imagine that God does not understand us; in Jesus that stone has been rolled back. If we want to imagine that God does not care for us; in Jesus that stone has been rolled back. God so loved the world that God came to us in a stable, as a helpless child, at the mercy of God's creatures. And when God's creatures turned against Emmanuel, God with us, God again rolled away the stone that we might know that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the love of God. God will always make a way.
So in this Season of Advent, we anticipate the birth of an old story, told in a new way.
Joy to the world, indeed.
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