Easter Day
Sunday, April 20, 2025
The Rev. David Wilcox
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
This morning, we gather with Christians around the world at the tomb of Jesus. Like Mary Magdalene and the other women who came in love after witnessing our Lord’s agony, death, and burial, we come bearing the weight of our own lives—our worries, hopes, and our need for healing and joy. Unlike those first visitors to the tomb, we already know the end of the story: the tomb is empty. Death did not win. Love has triumphed. But this story, this miracle, still speaks to us and our lives today.
Those women went to the tomb with only one question: “Who will roll away the stone for us?” It was a huge stone, one far too heavy for them to move on their own. And yet, that didn’t stop them. They went anyway, carrying their spices, grief, and love.
They weren’t worried about the guards. They didn’t hesitate because the men weren’t with them. They didn’t dwell on the possibility of being arrested. No. Their only concern was the stone. That obstacle. That barrier.
Easter is too big a miracle to mean just one thing. It means that Christ is risen, that death has been defeated, that eternal life is real, and that we, too, will be raised in glory to live with God forever. But Easter also means something deeply personal: God still rolls away stones.
Think about the stones in your own life—those obstacles keeping you from living fully in God’s love. They could be fear, shame, anger, doubt, addiction, regret, grief, or even the self-imposed limitations we create. Like the women at the tomb, we might ask, “Who will roll away this stone for me?”
Sometimes, we create our own tombs. We lock ourselves away, afraid of what’s outside or ashamed of what’s within. And we tell ourselves that there’s no way out. That the stone is just too heavy. But that’s the miracle of Easter: God removes what we cannot. God enters those places we try to hide and calls us out.
Jesus didn’t wait for his disciples to come to him. He sought them out, meeting Mary in the garden, or Cleopas on the road to Emmaus— he sought out those who had failed him, denied him, and those who ran away in fear. He appeared to them. He spoke peace to them. He forgave them. And he rolled away the stones of their shame and anxiety so they could become bold witnesses to the resurrection.
The risen Lord does the same for us.
There is no stone too heavy, no darkness too deep, no failure too final for God. Easter shows us that God is still at work even when we’re afraid, uncertain, or stuck in patterns we can’t break. Sometimes, the first step is showing up at the tomb—even when we don’t know what will happen next.
The women who went to the tomb did just that. They went not because they knew how the story would end but because love compelled them. And even though fear met them there, so did hope, because the stone had already been rolled away.
Fear is a stone, too—fear of rejection, change, letting go, and stepping into the unknown. But God doesn’t leave us there. Just as the stone was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb, so are the stones rolled away from ours.
The resurrection is more than an event in history—it’s an invitation. To come out. To rise up. To live anew.
So, what’s your stone today?
Whatever it is, know this: you are not alone. Christ has already gone ahead of you. He is already working in your life, even when you don’t see it yet. The miracle of Easter is not just that Jesus rose from the dead, but that he continues to bring life wherever death tries to rule.
Do you want proof of the resurrection? Look at those first disciples. They went from hiding in fear to proclaiming boldly. Nothing—not prison, not threats, not even death—could stop them once the stone had been rolled away from their hearts. That is the power of the risen Christ.
And that same power is at work in you.
Easter is about more than an empty tomb. It’s about what happens next, about how we live differently because of the resurrection, it’s about stepping out of our tombs and letting Christ lead us into new life. It’s about knowing that God is with us, even now, helping us roll away the stones in our path—whatever they may be.
So do not be afraid.
Trust in God. Believe in the promise of new life. Rejoice in the love that has conquered death. And know this: whatever stone you face today, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. And he comes to meet you—in prayer, Scripture, bread, and wine—and sends you out with courage to share the good news. So go boldly, like Mary Magdalene, to tell the world that Christ is Risen and he wants to roll the stones from their tombs too!
