Pastoral Letter 160
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and Peace to you all.
The Lent is over, and we are ready to celebrate Easter, the glorious and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Easter morning Mary saw the empty tomb and she was terrified, and the angel said to her: “He is not here, he is risen”. The disciples as well, wondered to what happened that day, until later in the evening Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you” and the disciples were overjoyed when they saw Him. Our Lord, the Saviour, is well and alive. He is risen from the dead and established a kingdom which is everlasting. His resurrection gives us the hope to be part of His kingdom and be with Him forever. We believe in this, and we share this good news with others, especially those who do not have hope, as Paul says in his letter written to the Thessalonians.
We celebrate and give thanks to the Father for this expression of His unreserved love to us and forgiveness He gives to us, the sinners. Thanks be to God.
If you will not be able to be with us tomorrow morning for Easter Service, please light a candle, have a small roll of bread and a cup of wine and join following the attached Order of Service.
Be safe and well, continue to pray, remembering those who need care, support and love. Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for Easter to be a time of blessing to us, to our dear ones and share the good news of the resurrected Christ who rules for ever.
- Pray for the people of Ukraine, Armenia and Artsakh.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the vulnerable, the struggling and the stressed.
- Pray for those who are unwell and struggling with different kinds of medical issues.
- Pray for world peace and ask for God’s blessings.
- Pray for Mark and Barbara, as they leave on Tuesday for their two-month vacation, driving in US and ask God to be with them and bring them back safely.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Best Regards,
Krikor
MESSAGE
The Stone is Rolled Away
John 20:1-18
The resurrection story is the foundation upon which our faith and hope is based.
It is simply, yet profoundly, summarised in three points:
1. Christ has died.
2. Christ has risen.
3. Christ will come again.
These familiar words about Christ have echoed through the ages, affirming our belief. We generally hear these words within the bounds of a church, in a gathering of the church or on a Church Notice Board.
But what if we were reading this story for the very first time?
If we do not know the ending of the story, we bring our assumptions and knowledge to this story, much like Mary.
Mary came to the tomb fully expecting it to be as she left it. Instead, she found the Stone had been moved away, so she ran to find the disciples and tell them what had happened. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (John 20:2).
Scripture does not say she looked into the tomb, not like Peter and the other disciple. Mary assumed she knew what had happened by her first impressions.
We do the same ourselves at times, we base our assumptions on appearance. Mary saw the Stone gone and accused “them” of removing Jesus’ body. This was her problem.
One of the great lessons of the Resurrection is that the solution to our problems does not depend on us. Thank God for that! The Solution to our problems comes from the One who has risen!
Three points to consider:
1. The Stone in Place
A. The Significance of the Stone in Place
The Stone represented a “barrier between the living and dead”. It symbolised and signified that Jesus had died – He had fulfilled all that He came to earth to do – “to give His life a ransom for all.” (John 15:13)
God’s Word is clear on the purpose and intent of Jesus Christ coming into this world. There is no greater love in the universe than this -“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
The Stone supported that Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried. He died just exactly as the Scriptures foretold.
B. The Security of the Stone in Place
The enemies of Jesus were just as afraid of Him after His death as when He was alive. They demanded Pilate that they might somehow ensure that the body of Jesus be guarded, lest some of His disciples steal it away. Pilate said, “Make the tomb as secure as you know how” to guard the Stone which was placed in front of the sepulchre.
They also made the Stone secure by “sealing” it. This was done by placing a cord across the entire Stone and sealing it with clay at each end. Little did these Pharisees know that they were giving support to the evidence that Jesus truly rose from the grave. A Roman soldier knew that to fall asleep on duty or to fail to fulfill his task meant certain death. They were quite professional in their duties.
The only way that the tomb could be empty would be for Jesus to rise from the dead! The Pharisees failed to realize that no rock, seal, guard, or army could prevent the Son of God from rising from the dead.
2. The stone rolled away!
A. The Significance of the Removal of the Stone
The Stone was rolled away!The earth began to quake on that first day of the week, as the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled the Stone away from the door of the sepulchre.Those that guarded the tomb of Christ became fearful, shook, and fell down as dead men.
Notice that the “angel sat upon the stone“. There is also significance in this as well. Why sit upon the Stone? Because it signified victory of Jesus.
The Stone symbolised a barrier between the living and dead. Jesus had Risen, “Death had been conquered!
B. The Sight Provided by the Removal of the Stone
The Purpose of removing the Stone was not to allow Jesus to get out, but so others could get in and see that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, just as He had promised!The angel of the Lord 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 is risen!“Then the angel said to the women – “Come and see the place where He lay!“
The Stone was removed to provide evidence that Jesus is the Son of God.The angel said: “Come and See.” Have we come to find the empty tomb and a resurrected Lord?
C. The Burial Cloth Seen by Peter and John
John and Peter ran to the sepulchre of Jesus when it was told by Mary Magdalene.When they saw the strips of linen lying by themselves from the burial cloth, they believed because they knew He Lived.
3. The stones rolled away in our lives
The Resurrection teaches us that He still moves stones!
The women who had come to the sepulchre had wondered how they could ever remove such a great stone!
Maybe we too have wondered how that such an obstacle separating us from God can ever be rolled away!
The Good News is declared! The Stone has already been removed by the Lord!There is nothing left for us to do except come to Him!That Stone being removed gave us access to God.
Many Christians spend much of their time acting and behaving as if their salvation depends on them.
When the disciples came running to see what Mary was talking and crying about, they were able to go directly into the tomb to see for themselves. Indeed, Jesus was gone. The stone no longer blocked their way or their vision.
What is blocking our way to see Jesus?
A person reading this story for the first time would have great difficulty believing a person could be dead and is now alive. Our job, in making disciples for Christ, is to be like “them” and help remove any stone that may block others from accepting Christ as their Saviour.
For us, as Christians, it may also be the time to look honestly at a stone that may be blocking our way to put our full trust in God and complete transformation.
When we accept Christ as our own Saviour and Lord, we become new creatures. But certainly, there are areas in which believers do not completely trust Christ. They set up their own stones.
Our stones take on many looks.
They may be the stones of distrust, racism, hate or selfishness. Anything that stands in the way of making disciples for Christ or sharing God’s love with others, or prevents us from living life more abundantly, needs to be rolled away.
Mary embodies the transformation from weeping and sorrow to joy; from confusion to understanding.
The same opportunities are open to us.
We know the story, perhaps too well, because its familiarity results discontentment. We experience neither the confusion nor the joy of Mary.
May we, in this hour, read with new eyes and hear with new ears the good news.
May our rocks of certain unbelief and distrust roll away to reveal the joy anew, and may we be transformed to become a new creature, reflecting God’s image of love, forgiveness, kindness and patience.
The Stone of the tomb has been rolled away, to reveal the truth and open the gate to heaven and eternal life with Christ. God has moved away all the obstacles that could be preventing us from going near to God.
Jesus has moved the Stone and opened the way that leads to God wide enough to go through for eternal salvation.
Let us share this good news with others, as the second part of the fabric that we mentioned on Good Friday. “It was Friday, but Sunday Came!”. Thanks to God. That gloomy and sombre day was the initial step that led to the glorious day of resurrection, with the Stone rolled away and the door of salvation wide open for us.
Amen!