First Friday Letter The World Methodist Council
April 2026
Easter Greetings from the WMC President Roll the Stone Away Luke 24:1-12 It is daybreak on that first Easter morning when Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women go to the tomb. Their purpose is to prepare the body of the executed Jesus for a proper burial. As they travel, they surely wonder how to remove the stone standing between them and Jesus’ body. Imagine how stunned and happy they are to discover that it has been rolled away. The rest of the narrative involves the women’s perplexity, their fear at the appearance of two men in dazzling clothes, a remembrance of Jesus foretelling how his life on earth would conclude and the return trip to share the good news with the disciples. This Easter season, though, I am putting those significant matters on pause and instead lingering at the rolled away stone. After all, we live in a world and society where there are many stones that need to be rolled away. Examples of such stones prevalent in our world today include: • grief that accompanies deep loss; • interpersonal clashes that bring hurt and disappointment; • a lack of self-confidence and esteem resulting in feelings of inadequacy and insecurity; • objectification of those who do not think, look and believe like us; • poverty that limits possibilities and diminishes hope; • racism that plagues countries across the globe; • conflict and war that results in death and destruction; • inhumane treatment of others; • and so many more. The Gospel writer Luke does not specify how the stone placed at Jesus’ tomb is moved. But clearly Jesus is at the center of the miracle of rolling it away. The two men in dazzling clothes say to the women, “ ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.’ Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.” (Luke 24: 5b-9 NRSVue) Yes, the Risen Jesus rolls away the stones in our lives. The Crucified One- who after dying on a cross over-
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came the seemingly insurmountable stone of death with his Resurrection-makes the impossible possible. The Resurrected Christ has the capacity to move any stone in our individual or collective lives. Jesus is the primary actor in all of this, but we have a part to play. Like the women, we are to show up, recognize Jesus at work in our lives and world, and share the good news with others. We face grief head on and then tell others how Jesus sustained us through our pain. We lean on Jesus as we walk through difficult relationships and then share with those in similar situations what we learned from the experiences. As we grow in our identity as Christ-followers, we live into and talk about who God created us to be. We open our hearts and minds with compassion to those who are different than us, recognizing and naming how we see Christ in them. We work to eradicate poverty from the world, giving examples of how adequate resources have changed the trajectory of individuals and families. We repent of our contributions to racism and remind ourselves and others that, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NRSVue) We use our voices and actions to call for the end of conflicts and war. Our treatment of friends and strangers is a witness to our faith. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.” (Zechariah 7:9-10, NRSVue) Jesus is at work in these and countless other ways, bringing transformation and hope by rolling away the stones that need to be removed from our lives and societies. Praise God for the Resurrected Jesus on this Easter and every day! What are the stones in your life that you need Jesus to roll away? Who are you going to tell about how that has happened? I invite you to join me on this Easter Sunday in praying that Jesus will roll away the stones in our lives and the world in which we live. Then when he does – let us tell others about it. It is a joy to serve as your President Blessings, Bishop Debra Wallace-Padgett President World Methodist Council
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