EASTER 2018

Easter 2018

Mark 16:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

            Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia! The story from Mark’s Gospel today leaves us wondering & longing for more. Mark’s Easter Gospel ends with silence rather than “Alleluia!” Alleluia wasn’t the word the women said at the end of their long night of waiting. It’s not what they said when the Sabbath was over, as they made their way to the tomb. When they neared the tomb & saw that the stone had been rolled aside, they still didn’t shout Alleluia. Even after they heard the young man in white tell them that Jesus had been raised, they didn’t shout “Christ is risen, Alleluia!”

            That’s what we want them to say, isn’t it? But they didn’t behave as we would like. They fled from the tomb, for “terror & amazement had seized them.” The words are even stronger in Greek: tromos (trauma) & ecstasis (ecstasy). Trauma & ecstasy had seized them—2 powerful emotions from different ends of the emotional spectrum.

            And then we’re told that they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. Mark’s Gospel ends in silence & Jesus never appears. It didn’t take long for other writers to add new endings to Mark’s story, endings where Jesus did appear to Mary Magdalene & finally to the 11 disciples. But, what if Mark wanted to end with silence? Surely, he knew the stories of Jesus’ appearances. He had heard the stories passed down from those who knew Jesus to those who now gathered in Jesus’ name. Mark wrote his narrative so the story would live beyond that generation of eye-witnesses.

            Mark wrote in a time of trauma, shortly after Roman armies had squashed a Jewish rebellion, destroying the temple & much of Jerusalem. Jews were killed by the thousands; & those who followed Jesus were increasingly persecuted. Mark wrote this Gospel for those who had never seen Jesus nor heard him speak. Mark’s silence is for them, a silence that honored their present trauma. This is a silence that also acknowledges how impossible it is to put ecstasy into words.

            Of all the Easter Gospels, Mark’s story invites us to stand where those first trembling witnesses stood. Those 3 women didn’t see Jesus. Neither do we. They didn’t hear Jesus call their names. Neither have we. They weren’t invited to touch his wounded hands. We haven’t touched Jesus’ hands either. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James & Salome are our silent sisters. The narrative is left for us, the readers, to complete.

            We are invited to bring the story of the resurrection into contact with the stories of our lives. That’s what Paul was doing in our reading from 1 Corinthians this morning. That fledgling church in Corinth was struggling with some of the same problems that haunt the Church in our society today. There were personality conflicts, power struggles, but most of all, it seems that the story undergirding that very church’s existence was being lost. So Paul has to remind them that at the core of their faith stands Jesus, who died to forgive them of their sins, who loved them to the end & beyond.

            I think many in our churches today have forgotten this central truth. A few weeks ago, a lawyer in Orangeburg, who is very politically active & helped found the O’burg Christian Academy, wrote an op-ed in the Times & Democrat titled “The Importance of Christianity.” In its more than 2000 words, the writer never once mentioned Jesus or the cross or resurrection or grace. His arguments for the importance of Christianity were based on the US Constitution, Judeo-Christian ethics, & quotes from various founding fathers & current leaders; but NEVER ONCE DID HE TALK ABOUT JESUS! Is it any wonder that young people by the millions are abandoning the church? They want to know Jesus!

              In the traumatic & ecstatic silence of the 3 women at the tomb, the narrative calls the disciples of the next generation to speak for themselves, & to bring the good news into dialogue with their own lives—a dialogue that must always include Jesus, his love & his power that must always deal with his life, death, & resurrection.

            Between their experience at the empty tomb & Mark’s writing, these 3 women did speak — or we wouldn’t know the story. Whatever they said to the disciples, their testimony was shaped by those 2 words: trauma & ecstasy. This wasn’t a testimony so absolute that it cancelled other possibilities. This wasn’t a word that demeaned the experiences of others. This wasn’t a witness that proved they were right & everyone else was wrong. The testimony that grew from their silence was always invitation rather than coercion.

            How will we tell this story? Will we leave space for those whose stories are different from ours? Will we insist that we alone are right & all others are wrong? Will we invite them or coerce them? Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, & Salome stand beside us today. In their silence they remind us that the life of faith is shaped by trauma & ecstasy, by trembling & amazement. The silence at the end of Mark’s gospel is always waiting to be filled in by people of every generation, waiting now for you & for me to tell our stories of how the risen Jesus is impacting our lives. Amen.