By The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloudCome Holy Spirit: Touch our minds and think with them; touch our lips and speak with them; touch our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. In the name of the risen Christ who brings us life from the tomb. Amen.
For me, there is nothing better than a good ending to a story. Since I don’t always have the time to read simply for pleasure, when I finally do have the chance, I want a story where all of the loose pieces come together, where all of the problems are resolved and where what finally happens at the end of the story is actually what I would hope would happen. I’ll tell ya, after reading Mark’s Gospel; I was left a little blank… even slightly annoyed. What kind of abrupt ending is this to the most significant event in our Christian history, the heart -- the very heart of our faith?!?!?! Can someone please tell me what this man was thinking?!?!
Unlike the other Gospel stories about the resurrection, Mark gives us no appearance of the risen Christ, no joy or wonder -- just the two Mary’s and Salome, told to “go tell” the good news running away in abject terror! Holy cow! If Mark’s Gospel was being produced for a production studio, there is no doubt in my mind that there would be an immediate demand for a re-write. Actually, there were at least two other re-writes of the ending of Mark’s Gospel -- you can find these re-writes bracketed in your bibles. I’ll be honest, they don’t necessarily help Mark’s story too much, because they’re so different from the actual writings of Mark; you can tell they were written to try to help this Gospel story conform to the later Gospel stories written about the resurrection. So, I guess, if you’re disappointed with this account, you’ll just have to come back tomorrow morning to hear the Gospel of John and his resurrection story! I know you’ll really like that one, but in the meantime… back to Mark.
Here we all are in our sanctuary, so beautifully adorned by our altar guild, our choir and musicians ready to lead us in joyous praise and what we get is Mark’s Hallelujah refrain: “…they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.” Oh, come on now! What kind of Easter story is this? Where’s the Good News? What kind of Hallelujah refrain is that, huh? Thankfully, we know that the women did “go tell” – someone said something to someone otherwise we wouldn’t be here tonight celebrating.
The truth of the matter is that Mark’s Gospel is one of the earlier accounts written about the resurrection. He was sharing his account of the resurrection for the earliest of Christians just some forty years after the actual event. Mark was actually writing for those who were already living into the joy of the Resurrection life. They already knew that Jesus had been raised from the dead and because of that, they had already accepted and were living, radically transformed lives. But what were they doing about it? Did those who had discovered Jesus had risen realize just how important it was that they remember what Jesus had told them and go tell others?
I guess, when looking at it from this perspective, maybe this retelling of the story isn’t so strange or as disappointing as it might be at first glance. Mark was a man who didn’t like to waste time and he got right to the point: the stone had been rolled away, the women were terrified and the men, Jesus’ disciples were nowhere in sight. The women run off in fear. What was going to happen next?
The one element of mystery in this Gospel is the young man dressed in a white robe who tells the women, “But 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.” It’s a proclamation Mark fulfills in the writing of his gospel -- with or without a dynamic ending. If we take the time to read the whole of Mark’s Gospel, we find that Mark has said almost everything that he needed to say about ‘what Jesus told them’ right up to the resurrection. He tells us throughout his writings about how the disciples didn’t understand Jesus; that they didn’t really understand the discipleship to which Jesus had called them. So maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that the women didn’t understand either. Jesus had told the disciples he was going to be put to death and be raised on the third day. It was one thing as an idea. It’s another thing as an experience.
Okay… wait a second. Maybe Mark knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote the story this way. It takes some time, but it gets a little clearer. Could it be that he is telling us that if we really seek to understand the meaning of Jesus, the meaning of the empty tomb, then we need to remember the beginning of the story –- back in Galilee where Jesus preached and taught and healed and announced the coming of God’s kingdom? “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” Could it be that Mark is saying that in order for us to live the Resurrection life we have to be willing to follow Jesus who has gone on ahead… that we must follow… to the cross to the empty tomb and to understand what happened there we must be willing to remember what he has done for us and to go tell. The kingdom of God comes into our own lives first—often with fear and trembling.
There actually is a resurrection story here. We can’t stay at or in the tomb. But we have to start there. We have to throw off the old, tired, worn and heavy clothing of our pasts that deadens our hope, diminishes our faith and leaves us in a state of mourning. We can’t wait… we can’t afford to wait. To leave our tombs means to start again and to be born again in the spirit of endless love. It means that to those of us who are choked in anger or bitterness, sadness or grief; or those who might be burdened with illness or disease; or those who have been abused in mind, body and spirit; who are embarrassed and ashamed -- we move forward not on our own, but in and with the Resurrected Christ who gives each and everyone of us new life through a love unknown like any other.
This is the Resurrection story: that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to take us all out of our darkened tombs and to transform us into a new life with Him. Sometimes, we just need to be reminded of this… sometimes, I need to be reminded of this.
I have a friend, a dear friend who constantly reminds me that I am loved… so loved. Who reminds me that I am not alone to face the darkness of my life… that there is a plan so defined by God for my life that all I need to do is to be willing to open myself completely to his infinite love. And so, I want to tell you, just as my friend tells me, just as God tells us… that you are loved… so loved.
On this holy night of nights, we came in from the darkness and into the light. We welcome Scarlett, our newest light of the faith. We remember what God has done for us and we reconfirm for ourselves that we too are sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
The stone has been rolled away! We don’t have to do anything by ourselves, because Christ has done it all already through his dying and rising. The tomb is empty! Christ’s love for us removes our doubt, our pain, and sorrow, the shame and anything else that keeps us from new life. It’s gone. There is no power left in these things anymore. We are free! Free to move forward and into the light and love of life. We are free!
Christ has gone ahead of us! He has gone ahead to clear the path so that we can walk forward, tentatively or with assurance, into unknown territory and maybe even into an uncertain future, but always with his love enfolded around us as we make our way. There is an amazing life that God has for each and every one of us. A life not lived in fear and shame, but in and through his power and light.
The stone is gone. The tomb is empty. We are free. And a new life awaits each one of us. But above all else, we are loved… so loved. Go tell!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! Amen.
© 2009 The Rev. Deacon Christine McCloud
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