On Letting Easter In

 On Letting Easter In                                        The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling

When dawn stands still with wonder

when birds jubilate in the trees

when buds hurry into blossoms

and grass starts wearing green

I always know that Easter wants to come again.

But deeper yet and richer still

When Jesus, imprisoned in me,

asks me to roll away the stone

that locks me in

then Easter wants to come again.

So, let it come

It’s one dawn past rising time

and Resurrection is the wildest news

that’s ever touched

this crazy, mixed-up world.

It says, yes!

when everything else says, no!

It says, up!

when everything else says, down!

It says, live!

when everything else says, die!

Easter’s standing at your door again,

so don’t you see that stone has got to go?

that stone of fear

of selfishness and pride

of greed and blindness

and all the other stones we use

to keep Jesus in the tomb.

So here’s to rolling stones away

to give our Lord the chance He needs

to rise and touch

a troubled, lonely world.

Some call it Resurrection.

It’s wild with wonder,

It’s beautiful and real

Intent on throwing life around

it touches and it heals!

~ Macrina Wiederkehr, Seasons of Your Heart

What a wonderful and curious thought. A reversal of sorts. How Lukan! Rather than imagining the women going to the tomb early Easter morning, only to find the stone rolled away, we’re inside the tomb, with Jesus imprisoned deep inside us. Rather than wondering who moved the stone, we’re asked by Jesus to roll it away!

What a wonderful and curious thought. Easter is standing on the outside of our tomb and She wants to come in. Oh, how we have wanted Easter to come! And yet, I wonder, has She been standing there all along, just waiting for us to let Her in?

I’ve lost my taste for the daily news for many reasons. Discord, allegations, improprieties, crises, and death magnified. The message is “no”, “down”, and “die” not “yes” like Mary, and “look up” with the ascension and “live” like Jesus. Macrina Wiederkehr says that we live in a crazy and mixed up world, and that “Resurrection is the ‘wildest news’ that ever touched” us. Will we give our Lord a chance to rise and touch our troubled and lonely world? Can we even hear the good news?

I once joined a choir as part of my Lenten discipline. When  choristers complained about this or that, the choirmaster would offer a simple word: attitude. When negative comments, judgment of others, and stinking thinking enter our brains, we know it’s time for an attitude adjustment. So, I ask myself: what stones of fear, pride, selfishness, greed, and blindness do I need to roll away? Whose voice am I listening to anyway? 

Meister Eckhart reminds us that “God is here, it’s we who have walked away.” Macrina  Wiedherkehr tells us that Easter is standing at our door asking to come in. Will we open our hearts and say yes?