Why do so many millions gather for worship on Easter morning? No doubt there are millions of answers to that question, but I suspect that one of the appeals of an Easter day is that the story is so consistent and has been from the beginning. The last thing we would expect as we listen to the gospel lesson for the day would be ...

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. With great fear and trembling she looked inside and there saw the body of Jesus as it had been prepared prior to the sabbath. Her eyes filled with tears, she took the spices she had brought for anointing, laid them about the body, then returned to the disciples to inform them and ask that the stone be rolled again…