Has life ever felt “heavy” to you? Has your personal story or the story of the world around you, felt so weighty that it seemed impossible to move in lightness and love? Mary Oliver, reflecting on a loss she had experienced, penned the poem, “Heavy.” In it, she writes that she felt she could not get closer to grief without dying. She was bent over, she wrote, and her laughter was “nowhere to be found.” In her own story, she received wisdom from a friend that became a resurrection moment. She learned that how one carried the weight made all the difference.
We read in the Gospel of Mark that on the day of resurrection, women who knew Jesus went to his tomb to anoint his body. They were carrying questions about how to move a heavy stone covering the entrance of the tomb. They also were surely carrying the weight of their own grief. But when they arrived, the stone has been rolled away, and an angelic messenger told them that Jesus was risen, and had gone out into the Galilean world, where they would find him. These early seekers went to the tomb with their concerns for their own heaviness, including their grief, but left carrying both fear and amazement. As we move through Easter, like them, we are watching to see how our heaviness can be transformed, and the ways we can discover the Risen One in our world.
Let’s talk about this on Sunday at St. Mark’s, as we gather for our Easter Celebration. The sermon, “On the Moving of Stones,” arises from Mark 16: 1-8. We will have two services, one at 8:30 and one at 10:30, with a continental breakfast served in Garton Hall between the services. There will be joyful congregational singing, accompanied by pipe organ, and brass instruments. We will be led musically by the Chancel Choir, under the direction of Gerry Sousa, as well as the Chancel Ringers, under the leadership of Lois Leong. We will have a moment for children, with Sunday School for children during the 10:30 service. We will conclude our service with the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. We hope you join us.
If you are new to St. Mark’s or you are connected to our community, we look forward to your joining us. Both the 8:30 and 10:30 services will be available online by visiting www.smumc.church and clicking on the Livestream banner.