It wasn't just recognizing the boulder blocking the tomb, but the burden of the loss and the burden of the harsh realities of life which like great stones weighed down on each of them. We know those burdens too, but here, on Easter, we know those burdens have been relieved. We know how this story ends. The burdens of our world are great. Movements for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland are stalled.
Slavery still exists.
AIDS has been called a modern plague. Civil wars flare and simmer in the Balkans because of racism. Israel and her neighbours struggle to find peace. In the last few weeks we've had to hear again about Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, and again we are reminded that there is truly something called evil in the world. This is a burden like a boulder upon the shoulders of humanity.