Easter
April 16, 1995
One of the activities I thoroughly enjoy is greeting people at the end of the Easter service. Usually people come out with a real high, saying things like: “The Lord is Risen,” or, “Alleluia,” or, “Rejoice.” At other times, they will remark on the beauty of the music, or the architecture, or maybe be kind enough to say something about the sermon. Last Easter, I had a strange occurrence. Near the end of the line, a young man came up to me, shaking his head and saying: “I don’t know -I just don’t know.”
That young man has stuck with me all year. His words have left me wondering what really goes through our minds as we leave the church. Just as there is more than one door out of the church, so too is there more than one thought that goes through people’s heads as they leave the service. Following this line of reasoning, we could also say that there probably were many different thoughts that went through people’s heads on that first Easter, just as there were many paths leading from the empty tomb.
If you look at Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s accounts, you will find that they all agree that the women were the only ones who discovered the empty tomb. But there is a wide difference as to what happened after the discovery. Matthew and Luke go on to tell different stories of the women and further Resurrection appearances. But Mark tells the story in another way. His account ends abruptly with his saying: ‘The women fled, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they were afraid.” That’s all- they all left – fled in terror.
In the Second Century, some helpful people added 12 more lines to Mark’s Gospel – tidying up the ending and telling us where the women went. You might check your Bibles at home to see if your translation contains those later words.
But scholars agree that the real Mark ends his account with the words: “They were afraid.” There are no further appearances, no supper at Emmaus, no breakfast on the beach. There is nothing but the silent, precipitous, fearful conclusion. It’s as if Mark were telling us that the only words that the women were able to utter were: “I don’t know. I just don’t know what has happened.”
For me, this feels right. When something truly unusual happens, when something out of the ordinary occurs, there is nothing that can be said or done. We can only shake our heads and say: “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
Have you come here to get it all nailed down? To be given the last word about the Resurrection? To have it all explained? Spelled out for you in living Technicolor? What are you expecting? As I’ve said many times, what you expect often colors what you hear. If you’re looking for facts, you won’t find them. If you’re looking for truth, that’s something else.
I’m sticking with Mark, who tells us that the Risen Christ does his business in ways we least expect. He’s interested in truth. He doesn’t offer us certainty. We are given a mystery. The Resurrection account does not increase our knowledge. It simply adds to our sense of wonder. For you see, Easter is not about a ritual appearance in the Springtime. It’s about ecstasy at any time.
So Mark never got around to putting the finishing touches on his Gospel. But maybe that’s the whole point of the Easter story. It’s meant to be open-ended. It is what you decide to do with it. All we’re told is that Jesus is somewhere out in front of us. He’s gone on before us.
And that’s the truth of Easter.
Now this is scary business. No wonder Mark’s Gospel ends with the statement: ‘They were afraid.” Monday, the next day, is much more of a frightening topic when talking about the victory on Sunday. The future is more frightening than the past. There are no guarantees, no set answers, no path that leads to Monday. But that’s really what Mark’s Gospel is all about – the future, the day after. When the flowers fade and the music dies down, is when the rubber hits the road for most of us. Easter is about living a new life in the future, not escaping death in the past. Easter is the beginning of a journey, not an answer to your questions about God. Not a fact that allows you to sit back and feel comfortable about your religion. The Resurrection is a truth to challenge us in our living.
So, what are you going to do with Mark’s Gospel? How are you going to use his description to celebrate this magnificent day?
Well, that’s our problem. After all, we all came here looking for Jesus. But Mark tells us: “He’s not here. You just missed Him. By this time of the morning, He’s already in Galilee. He’s gone out before us. . .. AMEN.