A Huge Stone of Unbelief

-------[A Huge Stone of Unbelief/The Angel's Words to Mary Magdalene Upon Arriving at The Empty Tomb/]



I saw you last night at the Pool of Bethesda
stepping over sleeping invalids
quietly lifting arms, and legs from the ledge
so you could dip your hands and wash the blood stained
memories of carrying His lifeless battered body
to the tomb a day before
and your grief is a hallucinogen because you screamed
(much to the chagrin of those resting, who murmured and groused)
but the clear water didn't transmute into thick blood
neither did the white moon into crimson, with leaden skies
nor were there captious Roman soldiers standing over your bed
the past two nights, waiting for you to rise
(you were dreaming)

your mind is troubled from all you've seen
but you look for Jesus in the wrong place –
a graveyard is fit only for those content with perpetual mourning
with burying unfulfilled longings
and letting go of completion
your people are still enslaved by Romans,
the poor by lack of a living wage
the lion and the lamb are still enemies, and the nations
have not beaten their swords into plowshares
the world is still laden with the yoke of Satan
...prisoners still groan to be set free
shackles loosened, melancholy and frowns reversed
evil has yet to be bound and the righteous vindicated.
Your witness to the crucifixion does not give
your lack of faith tacit approval
though you saw His cruel death, you are still to believe
and embrace expectation in your heart
and repudiate your nightmares....
you don't need me to roll away big stones (of doubt)
because in Heaven, with the Father
there is more work to be done
hope never dies
for the One to bring all things to fulfillment



-------John 20:10-16--------------
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary."

---------------Matthew 28:1-7
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."