April 8 — Easter Day
Mark 16:1-8
The best manuscripts of Mark’s gospel end in the middle of a sentence. Later versions have one or both of two endings that tie things up too nicely. They represent a reading into Mark of a theology that isn’t his. Maybe one day we’ll find Mark’s original ending. A piece of papyrus that was torn off for some reason known only to the members of the first congregation in Rome.
I like the abrupt ending, in what we call verse eight, “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid …” A better reading is, “They were afraid because…” Because why?
Have you ever uttered a heartfelt prayer and then, after “amen,” realized you’re afraid God will do as you ask? Have you ever dreamed a dream, then admitted you wouldn’t know what to do if it came true? People who gamble on lotteries may not expect to win, and may even be afraid of what would happen if they did. Sometimes we’re more afraid of success than failure.
Mary, Mary, and Salome go to the tomb. Prepared to do the best thing they can imagine for Jesus, now that he’s dead. They may know the tomb is under guard. They know it’s sealed with a large stone. It took several men to push it into place, along a sloped trench. Tombs were made to be closed and opened, to allow many burials. But it’s too early in the day, too soon after Jesus’ burial, to open this tomb. Imagine their shock when they see the tomb. Open. Unguarded. Occupied only by a strange man in white.
Answered prayer can change a life beyond recognition. Dreams come true make the world new. Hope framed by the best of what we know isn’t hope enough. If Jesus is alive, and not lost to us, anything is possible! That’s terrifying!
The man in white says, “Go! Tell!” They say “nothing to anyone.” They are “afraid, because…”
Imagine that’s the way Mark wanted his version of the story to end. Where does he want the dotted line to lead? Where might we go? What frightening possibilities are ahead of us? If we dare follow the dotted line. If Jesus is alive, anything is possible!
If Jesus is alive, you and I can’t look at the world the way we did on Good Friday. Or before. If Jesus is alive, the world is made new. Yet we are afraid, because… In a changed world, you and I must also change. In a world of possibilities, you and I are exposed to great risk. Jesus might call us where we don’t want to go. We may find Jesus in places we don’t think he should go. Following Mark’s dotted line, looking for Jesus, will take us beyond the best we know or imagine. It will take us to the mountaintop. It will take us to the depths of human suffering. Into light. Darkness, too.
The man in white said, “Go! Tell! Then go back home. You’ll find him there.” Back to everyday life. Beyond the comfort of community in grief. To the hard work of redeeming this world for God.
Sometimes I think Mark’s dotted line leads back to the beginning of his gospel. As long as Easter Monday’s a holiday we have time to sit down and read Mark’s gospel again. It will tell us how Jesus works in this world. Where he likes to go. Where we’ll likely find him. Frightening? Maybe.
But. Remember. If Jesus is alive, anything is possible.
