EASTER SUNDAY: NOW - we run toward resurrection
Mark 16:1-8
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Of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection,
Mark’s version is the most discomforting and disturbing,
and discombobulates the most Bible scholars.
So, naturally, it’s my favorite.
We get more out of the Bible when we have to wrestle with it.
What befuddles us is how Mark ends—
so abruptly . . . and so unsatisfyingly.
The King James, and other old Bibles have a longer ending for Mark.
But after the King James was published,
more ancient scrolls and fragments were discovered.
Turns out the oldest and most reliable manuscripts,
have a shorter ending.
Most Bible scholars agree,
the original Gospel of Mark ended at verse 8,
by saying the women (quote) “fled from the tomb,
for terror and amazement had seized them,
and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
End of story. End of book.
At some point, maybe early in the 2nd century, we think,
well-meaning editors finished Mark’s story.
They added 12 more verses, combining parts
of the Matthew, Luke, and John resurrection story,
and tacking it on to Mark.
Since Mark ended with three women running from the tomb
and not telling a soul,
it’s kind of obvious why an editor wanted to finish the story.
The question is, why Mark didn’t.
_____________________
So let’s think about resurrection in first-century Jewish context,
before it became the stuff of sunrises and white lilies,
and white-robed angels strolling in the garden.
Now, I love the tradition of filling Easter with
blooms and colors and songs and Alleluias!
I love it, and embrace it. Don’t get me wrong.
There is goodness and joy and beauty
in God’s victory over death.
Easter is, to the core, a story of hope and triumph.
But . . . let’s not forget what it was like, in the moment,
as Mark brilliantly told the story.
Remember, we assume Mark’s Gospel emerged
from Jesus-followers in Rome,
during the Roman war against the Jews.
So maybe Mark had a deeper grasp
on how terrifying and complex resurrection is,
for people in the crushing grip of a violent empire.
Of course, there was deep joy.
The disciples loved Jesus, and were thrilled to have him back.
But think about what else it meant.
There’s a reason they were terrified.
They’d gone into the previous week thinking this was the end
of Roman occupation and oppression.
The Empire would be chased out of Judea,
they would be free at last,
Jesus would be enthroned in Jerusalem,
and usher in an era of peace.
But their hope came crashing down.
Jesus was defeated and humiliated by Rome,
publicly crucified,
suffering a barbaric execution like any other insurrectionist.
I think by Sunday the disciples were already considering
how to reset their lives.
Their goal was to disappear into the woodwork,
become invisible,
get on with some other way
of making a life for themselves in a brutal Empire.
One of the other Gospels tells how Peter did exactly that,
convincing some of his former fishing buddies
to go back out on the Sea of Galilee,
and pick up where they left off three years earlier.
I imagine the rest went through a similar thought process.
It’s called disillusionment.
“Okay. So we got Jesus wrong.
We can’t take back the last three years.
Let’s get real, and figure out a new life.”
So . . . when news began to sink in that the tomb was empty,
and that Jesus, in some way or another, was still with them,
that completely disoriented them again.
Because Rome had not gone anywhere!
Herod still lived in the palace.
Soldiers were still everywhere.
The religious hierarchy, who were threatened by Jesus,
were still in power.
The resurrection seemingly had zero impact on Jesus’ enemies.
So . . . if Jesus was still alive,
and his enemies were still in power,
and doubling down on their oppression,
it meant the disciples could not disappear
and make a new life.
Their mission was not yet accomplished.
They had to re-engage the freedom struggle.
That’s asking a lot for recently traumatized people.
It’s pretty easy for us, 2000 years later,
to see hope and joy in resurrection.
But were the disciples willing to live the nightmare all over again?
Even if Jesus showed up in the flesh, and built another following,
the powers of the world
would have every one of them in the cross-hairs . . . again.
Their end would be even more violent and horrific,
than a single crucifixion.
Were they ready to risk that?
That, I believe, was the terror that seized them.
_____________________
You know, celebrating resurrection is wonderful.
But it never means the struggle is over,
or the hard work is done.
It might only be getting started.
In some ways, this short story in Mark,
of the women going to the tomb on the first day of the week,
is a perfect metaphor for what’s required
of us today as Jesus followers.
What’s required is to show up for the hard stuff.
We have a misleading mental image
of the two Mary’s and Salomé going to the tomb.
We picture a Sunday morning walk in a garden,
flowers and blooming trees everywhere,
sun rays peeking over the horizon,
a perfect sunburst against the blue sky.
We imagine three women sprinkling perfume and spices
on Jesus’ wrapped up body,
spending a few quiet and sacred moments in grief,
paying homage to a dear friend.
That’s a nice image. But it’s not true.
This was no stroll in a garden.
This was the first day of the week;
day after Sabbath, same as our Monday morning.
They were there to do a very unpleasant job.
As if Monday morning wouldn’t be bad enough
after a horrifying weekend,
they had agonizingly difficult work to do first thing.
This was grunt work—in the extreme.
Monday morning grunt work.
The job of these women was to unwrap Jesus’ lifeless body,
dead and stiff in the tomb two days,
wash it,
rub in the necessary anointing oil and spices,
their way of embalming,
and re-wrap the body and put it back where it belonged.
Normally this was done soon after death.
But the circumstances of Jesus’ crucifixion didn’t allow that.
So they were intent on this one thing—one hard job to do—
to give Jesus a proper burial,
and then to get out of there,
and get on with sorting out what life looks like
without Jesus in it.
But instead, they found an empty tomb, with an angel inside it.
A whole new disturbing reality was foisted on them.
It overtook them.
It seized them.
_____________________
We will have a better grasp of Easter,
when we realize what it took for these women,
just to show up and do the grunt work that needed to be done.
They did this while their hope was still crushed.
They didn’t want to do it.
But it was the right thing to do.
We live in a world today that needs a lot of grunt work from us.
There is injustice everywhere we look.
Violence and hatred and inhumanity is pervasive.
The work of repairing this world—
which is the mission of God—
and which we are invited into as partners—
is grueling work.
It is not a stroll in the garden.
Sunrises and blooming lilies may be few and far between.
The work may be difficult and off-putting,
maybe tedious,
certainly risky,
and maybe not with any immediate reward or payback.
We may not feel like doing it today.
We might even feel hopeless.
It just happens to be the right thing to do.
So, because of the ultimate hope we have,
because of God’s victory over death and the grave,
because of the Holy Spirit of God breathing
strength and courage into us,
we go on, we keep at it, we keep showing up,
Monday morning or Tuesday or any day.
Most days it might seem like nothing happened.
But every now and again,
we encounter resurrection.
And we are overwhelmed.
That is the good news of Easter.
Let’s celebrate today,
and be ready for the grunt work tomorrow.
God helping us.
—Phil Kniss, March 31, 2024
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