Reflection on Mark 16:1-8

 

It ends with the women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, all running away from the scene of the resurrection in fear. 

Really, truly, that is the end of the gospel of Mark: fear.  Some unsatisfied monks years later tried to tack on what they thought were better endings to Jesus’ story and you can read them in your Bibles if you want.  These monks just could not possibly see how the very heart of the Christian faith, the very root that nourishes us and bears the fruit of belief could have its roots in unresolved fear. 

Yet, we are a people who look to the Bible to guide all aspects of our faith, so we do not get to choose what it says.  We just have to contend with the fact that the resurrection story in Mark ends in fear.  We just have to contend with the fact that the ending does not seem like an ending at all.  We just have to contend with the fact that the life of faith is not always the bliss of walking and talking with Jesus in the garden alone. 

Indeed, the last words of Mark do not seem like the ending of a story at all. They seem more like the buildup to a sequel.  

The Bible says, that the young man in white, who announces that Jesus has been raised from the dead, tells the women to “go, tell [Jesus’] disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So [the women] went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

That is the end.  But, it is not the end.  We are here, telling the story today, 2000 years later.  The women had to have said something at some point.  The story continued on at some point. 

And, maybe that is the point.  Maybe, the point is that Jesus’ resurrection gets rid of the ends of stories.  Maybe, the point is that the resurrection means that Jesus can allow any story to continue.  Maybe, your story does not have an ending either, thanks to the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

This reminds me of a play that I heard about once.  I heard it years ago, and I cannot for the life of me remember the play’s name, but I can certainly remember the twist at the end of the play. 

The lights go down toward the end of the show, and when the lights come back up, they reveal an empty stage.  The actors never return to the stage and the curtains (this is key) never close. 

For minutes the audience sits uncomfortably, yet the house attendants stand at the doors, keeping them shut.  Eventually, someone gets up the nerve to go on the stage and look around.  They handle the props.  They invite others to play around on the set.  Chairs are sat in.  Bottles are opened and smelled.  Stories are told.  Beds are laid upon.  The audience becomes a part of the story.  The whole point of the play is that there is no end to the story.  The audience gets to continue the story. 

And, I think that is what Mark, our preacher is trying to get at.  The lights may go down and come back up throughout the show…throughout our lives…but the curtains never close.  The resurrection means that, what we have been convinced is the ending, is not the ending. 

To those of us who have the details of our lives planned out, this can be a scary notion.  We like to be in control of our stories.  We want to know where they end.  We want them to end in a cabin by the lake with happy grandchildren visiting and filling us with love.  We want them to end on a beach in a warm climate; next to the person we have loved our entire life.  We want our endings to be our endings, and the idea that they might not turn out in the way that we had planned is scary.

But, for those who have been convinced by others that their stories are going to end in jail, or end in pain, or end in loneliness, because of the own sins or because of the sins of their parents or because of crazy circumstances, to learn that what people had convinced them would be the final curtain for their lives is merely a scene change, the lights coming down and then back up again, is quite simply, life giving. 

It is the gift of forgiveness. 

It is the gift of being raised to new life.

It is the good news of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And, for those who fear the final lights going out, the lights that never come back on, the darkness that reeks of death, they too get to hear the good news that just because the lights went down, that in no way means that the curtain has closed. 

In fact, Mark 15:38 says that Jesus’ death means that the curtain of the temple that separates us normal people from the holiness of the Lord “was torn in two, from top to bottom.”  There is no final curtain.  There is only the next scene of new life with God for eternity.

And, for those of us who are not yet to that final lights out, and I hope that includes everyone here…  I know I can preach a boring sermon, but I am pretty certain that I have not killed anyone…yet.  We can set goals can’t we? 

And, for all of us here who are not yet to that final lights out, we hear Jesus’ voice which outright tells us that even our crazy circumstances are not the end of the story. 

What does the Bible say?  It says that the disciples were told, on multiple occasions, by Jesus himself and this young messenger of God in the tomb, that Jesus “is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” 

I do not know who convinced you that a small church is the end of the story, but it is not.  Get up on the stage and join Jesus.  He is already there, ahead of you. 

I do not know who convinced you that this changing world is the end of the story, but it is not.  Get up on the stage and join Jesus.  He is already there, ahead of you.  

I do not know who convinced you that the illness, or the addiction, or the lies, or broken relationship, or the abusive relationship, or the joblessness, or any other event in life is the end of the story. 

There are no curtains in Jesus’ story, and yes, you are a part of Jesus’ story.  You are a child of the holy one.  You are a child of the one who continues to write the story.  You are a child of the one who refuses to let the curtains fall. 

I do not know who convinced you of the end of your story.  Maybe, it was you?  Maybe, you cannot see the next act.  Maybe, you simply cannot imagine beyond the wall that you have put in front of yourself.  Well, I have news for you.  Jesus is already ahead of you.  Jesus already knows the next chapter.  And, I guarantee, it will not be a curtain. 

Oh, the lights may come down.  The scenery might change on you.  You might need to get your bearings once again and let go of the past scenes, but it is not curtains. 

Because, Jesus Christ only knows how to create new life.  Jesus Christ only knows how to write a new scene.  Jesus Christ only knows how to hold on to you in love, during the dark times, during the time on the cross, and he only knows how to pull you back up. 

After-all, in Jesus’ theatre there are no curtains.  There are no ends to the stories.  And, that is why this sermon has no ending. 

Why did I just see fear streak through half of your faces? 

No, no, I am not going to keep preaching.  This is the part where I step aside, and the sermon continues in you.  And, may Jesus tell a really good story of love and new life in your life. 

After-all, the root of our faith in Jesus Christ has nothing to do with endings.  Rather, the root of our faith in Jesus Christ has to do with the promise of new beginnings.  Welcome to the never-ending resurrection story.