Resurrection Yet Unwritten: Mark 16:1-8 - Resurrection of Our Lord

¹When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus’ body]. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (NRSV)

Easter morning sunrise by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on flickr.  CC BY-NC 2.0.

Today may be April 1, but every day is April Fool’s Day at the Arter House, thanks to our daughter and professional praknstress, Rebecca.

There’s googly eyes on the television.

The family picture has been replaced with Sonic the Hedgehog.

And Nicolas Cage stares creepily at you in the mirror when you brush your teeth.

But the ending of today’s Gospel—or complete lack of ending—is no prank.

The two Marys and Salome go to Jesus’ tomb early in the morning, to anoint his body with the spices they had bought.  They find that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled away from the tomb.  Inside, they find a young man dressed in a white robe, who tells them the big news.  The women receive instructions to tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee, and there they will see him, just as he told them. 

But, the women run away from the tomb in fear and amazement—and tell no one what they’d witnessed.  There’s no joy or wonderment.  And I can’t say I blame them. 

Remember: they watched Jesus die.  Messiahs don’t get killed; and people don’t rise from the dead.  Who’s going to believe that he’s alive? 

Even though Jesus was supposedly alive, that couldn’t make everything that had gone wrong.  If anything, the resurrection created a whole new set of problems.  They’ve got to be wondering, will Jesus be mad at us for what happened?  For not understanding or believing what he told us?  Are they in fear for their lives, after Jesus warned them that they’d suffer for their faith?  Or, are they just plain confused and helpless to make sense of it all? 

If that’s Mark’s ending to the Easter story, it’s a lousy one.  I must say it’s also a more realistic and relatable ending for us…

Let’s be honest: what does it mean for you that Jesus is risen? 

Fact is, we are every bit as challenged to make sense of the resurrection as the women.  The Church has been celebrating the resurrection for 2,000 years.  In a way, the resurrection is old news.  Has life really changed since Good Friday?  Is the world going to be any less scary tomorrow morning?  There’s no way to prove with science or archaeology that God actually raised him from the dead.  It’s easier to dismiss the Gospel as a fairy tale than believe it as truth.  Surely, the women knew this…

Except that the angel made a promise: “Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee, and there you will see him just as he told you.”  

Mark doesn’t give us the details, but the traumas of Christ’s death and resurrection gave the women and the eleven disciples a whole lot to talk about.  So they talked; they questioned; they struggled together.  And the living Jesus turned their fear into faith.

Just the same, Jesus is going ahead of you into the future.  There, you will see him, too…  Resurrection is all about finding new and abundant life in the places you’d least expect.  You find unexpected grace in your moments of greatest need.  Jesus will reveal to you his answers to your prayers.  When sin and suffering knock you down, Jesus will pick you back up. 

Yet resurrection isn’t something that happens only in private.  The Church is the locus of the resurrection today. 

As a Church, we’re not just celebrating a 2,000 year-old event.  We’re living into a whole new reality that Jesus wants to bring into the pains and struggles we all share.  It’s a promise that binds us together and makes us one.  It’s forgiveness destroying bitterness and resentment.  It’s love destroying hate.  It’s charity destroying poverty.  It’s life persisting where death and despair have done their worst.

The world tells you that you need stuff and success to be happy; that you need to fight to win.  But resurrection happens when you share and give away; when you trust God instead of trying to control things.  Resurrection happens when love and hope take you beyond your comforts and desires to help raise someone else from death and despair. 

You tell just as much about Jesus with your good works as you do with words.  When you go and tell—Jesus meets you there. 

The rest of the story of Jesus’ resurrection is waiting to be written.  It’s waiting for you out there in the world, among the people Jesus loves so much.  So may the love of Jesus and the promise of his resurrection move you from this place with joy and hope.  Christ has triumphed over death and the devil.  The future is where you will meet Jesus, just as he told you.