Mark 16:1-8
March 31, 2024
“So 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.”
These words aren’t exactly what we
expect from an Easter message, are they? There is no celebration, no elation. There
is no shout of “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” There are no “Alleluias!”
Nothing about these words or the message they convey are joyful or exultant.
They don’t seem to reflect – at all – what has just happened: that Jesus
of Nazareth who was crucified is no longer in the tomb. They don’t reflect the
amazing and astonishing news that Jesus of Nazareth who was executed by the
state, who died on a criminal’s cross, was laid in a tomb without proper burial
and without any rituals or rites of respect, is not here.
He.
Is. Not. Here. And he is not here because his lifeless body has been
moved to another location. He is not here because he is risen, he is
resurrected. He is not here, in this tomb, because he is no longer dead but
alive. He has been raised. Look, look over there. Do you see that spot over
there? That was where they laid him. But he is not there. He is not here. He is
risen! He is risen indeed!
Shouldn’t this news, these words
have resulted in celebration? One might think so. But the women who heard them
on that early morning did not celebrate. They did not shout for joy. They heard
these words from a white robed young man, who was probably an angel, but instead
of celebrating they were seized with terror and amazement. Literally, they were
trembling with fear, unable to speak. Most likely, unable to think. The women
heard the words of the angel and were overcome with fear and shock. And even
though the angel gave them instructions to go and tell the disciples and Peter
what had happened, to go to Galilee because that is where Jesus is going ahead
of them, they couldn’t do it. They could not do what the angel told them – at
least not yet. Instead they ran away, saying nothing to no one, because they
were afraid.
No, these aren’t the words we’ve
come to expect from Easter. This isn’t the message we want to hear on Easter
morning. And I can understand why Mark’s account is not the go-to for the
Easter story. I can appreciate why some unknown scribes came along later and
tried to clean up Mark’s ending, adding verses to wrap up the story like you
wrap a present, neatly, cleanly and tied with a bow.
It’s as if Mark was taking an exam,
heard the warning from the proctor that there were only five more minutes left
to finish his essay, and so out of necessity, he just ended the story he was
writing.
“So 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.” The End.
But Mark’s original ending does not
feel like an ending. It feels unfinished. Yet, if we look carefully at the rest
of Mark’s gospel, this abrupt ending fits. Mark writes with immediacy and
urgency. From the first words of his gospel, we feel as though we’ve been
thrust into a story in the middle rather than the beginning. Mark begins his
gospel with Jesus already born, already grown, and at the start of a ministry
that was on the move. Mark has never wasted ink on flowery details or wordy
descriptions. From the opening sentences of this gospel, Mark has made it clear
that there was no time to lose in proclaiming the gospel and sharing the good
news. So, the fact that his ending should be so abrupt shouldn’t surprise us.
But what does surprise us is the lack of rejoicing. Instead of celebration, we
have terror and amazement.
Shouldn’t the women have been
overwhelmed with joy rather than fear? After all, their beloved teacher is
found to be alive not dead. It almost seems like a dream. If you’ve ever lost
someone and dreamed that they were still alive, there are no words to describe
that joy that you feel – even in sleep – that the person you love was not lost
to you, but alive, alive, ALIVE!
And yet … if I had been among that
group of women, would I have celebrated right away? Or would I have trembled
with fear? Would I have been dumbstruck with awe? I think it is highly possible
that I would have reacted more like the women from our gospel than I might like
to believe. Because dead is supposed to be dead. Those women walk to the tomb
grieving and anxious, expecting the dead to stay dead. Instead they are greeted
with the news that life overcame death and love defeated hate. It was all too much
to take in. It was all more than they could comprehend. An angel, an empty
tomb, a message of resurrection. No wonder they shook with fear and trembled
with amazement?! As Debi Thomas wrote, sometimes resurrection comes upon us
slowly. Our hearts and minds need time to catch up. I suspect that this was
true for the women as well. Their hearts and minds needed time to catch up with
what they were told, with what they saw and experienced on that early morning.
Certainly, they must have eventually
told someone because the good news did indeed spread from one person to the
next. The gospel was proclaimed and shared and believed despite their initial
terror and amazement. The good news of the resurrection was not lost due to the
women’s first response of flight in the face of what they could not yet grasp. Definitely
the story did not end with their running away in fear.
Maybe that is the good news. Maybe
that is the good news we need to hear this Easter morning. The women’s fear did
not hinder the proclamation of the gospel. Their inability to grasp what they
heard, and what they saw did not stop God and the new thing God was doing.
Jesus’ resurrection from death to new life was not stopped because the women
ran away or the other disciples didn’t understand. The good news of the gospel
cannot be stopped or blocked or thwarted by our fears, our mistakes, our
inability, or unwillingness to act or to share. This doesn’t mean that we are
not called to proclaim, to tell, to share, and to act out the good news of the
gospel in the world. But it does mean that God is not stopped by our
limitations. God is not stopped by our fear.
And there are two words in this
gospel story that bring this point home. When the angel greets the women,
telling them to not be alarmed or afraid, he also tells them this:
“But go, tell his disciples and
Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee…”
And Peter. Now, why do those
two words matter so much? Why did the angel single out Peter from the other
disciples? Think about it. What was the last thing Peter did? He denied Jesus.
He denied him three times. He refused to acknowledge any connection between
them. Peter was afraid. He was terrified. He was overwhelmed with fear at what
might happen to him because of his relationship with Jesus. So, Peter denied
Jesus.
But this angel tells the women to go
and tell the disciples and Peter that Jesus is resurrected, that Jesus is on
the way to Galilee ahead of them. And Peter. Maybe Jesus wanted Peter to know
that all was forgiven. Maybe Jesus wanted Peter to know that his denial and his
fear did not exclude him from the good news now. It did not exclude him from
the work that now must be done. Maybe Jesus wanted Peter and all of them to
know that the mistakes of the past were both forgiven and forgotten. Peter’s
denial did not extinguish Jesus’ love for him. The fear of the women would not
keep the good news from being told. No mistakes that any of them had made or
would make could stop God. Go and tell the disciples and Peter. And Peter.
I know that Mark’s gospel does not
end as we might like. I know that his finish feels unfinished. Yet, I think
that is indeed the good news. It is not finished, we are not finished, and God
is not finished. Peter’s denial did not stop God. The women’s fear did not prevent
the gospel from being proclaimed. God is not thwarted by our limitations. And
we are not excluded from God’s love because of them. Go and tell the disciples
and Peter. Go and tell the disciples and Amy. Go and tell the disciples and
Brent. Go and tell the disciples and Charlie. Go and tell the disciples and
Mellisa. Go and tell the disciples and Chris and Sam and Lyman and June and
Drew. Go and tell the disciples and all of us that Jesus is risen. Go and tell
the disciples and all the world that love has overcome hate and death has been
swallowed up by new and everlasting life. Our fear does not stop God. Our
mistakes cannot limit Love. This is our good news, and in this good news we are
fearful and amazed. In this good news we are overwhelmed and lifted up. In this
good news we find our hope, our joy, our exultation. Jesus is risen! He is
risen indeed!
Thanks be to God!
Let all of God’s children shout,
“Alleluia!”
Amen.
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