The Holy Gospel According to St. Mark, the 16th Chapter
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Today is Easter Sunday AND it’s April Fools Day! Now, if the world worked MY way, every pew cushion would be a whoopee cushion today! Some would say we shouldn’t mix these two days, but the truth is, “HE IS RISEN” is the greatest punchline in the history of everything! Even the punchline to the joke about the golfing priest isn’t as good. Have you heard that one? There once was this priest who was an avid golfer. Every chance he could get, he was on the links. One Sunday morning he woke up and it was a picture perfect day for golfing. The sun was shining, no clouds in the sky, and the temperature was just right. The priest just couldn’t stand it. He called his assistant and told him he was sick and couldn’t do church. Then he packed the car, and drove three hours to a golf course where no one would recognize him.
An angel was watching and was disgusted. He went to God and said, "Look at the priest! He should be punished for what he’s doing.” God nodded in agreement. The priest teed up, hit the ball sending it sailing effortlessly through the air and landing right in the cup! A picture perfect hole-in-one! The priest jumped for joy! The angel was shocked! He turned to God and said, "I thought you were going to punish him?” God smiled. "Think about it -- who can he tell?"
Jokes are funny because they are stories with an unexpected ending that take us in a new direction. Jesus’ resurrection is probably the MOST unexpected ending of any story, EVER! But reading the story from Mark’s Gospel like we did today, it looks like this was a story that was almost never told! Where this lesson ends today is where the whole book originally ended! No one tellin’ nothin’ to nobody! But over the years, clearly it was too good to keep to themselves and the story got out in the end!
Speaking of “the end,” an atheist was spending a quiet day fishing when suddenly his boat was attacked by the Loch Ness monster. In one easy flip, the beast tossed him and his boat high into the air. Then it opened its mouth, intending to swallow him whole and as the man sailed head over heels, he cried out, "Oh, my God! Help me!” At once, the scene froze. The atheist hung in mid-air. The monster frozen with his mouth wide open. And a booming voice came down from heaven, "I thought you didn't believe in Me!" The atheist responded, ”Come on God, give me a break!! Two minutes ago I didn't believe in the Loch Ness monster either!"
That’s a good one, but not the best one. Like I said the best one of all time has the punchline… ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED! But even the best punchline isn’t much without the right set up and the set up for this one is hard. The set up is all the hurt and all the pain, all the injustice, brokenness, and horror of the world… The set up, is that darkness all too often seems overwhelming and light, so very often, doesn’t seem to have a chance. The set up for this joke is that it seems that the powerful always win, that the answer to violence is always more violence and that death is the inevitable and very final end. The set up leaves us wondering… just like the original ending to Mark’s Gospel, is that all there is? It leaves us wondering if death is inevitable, joy improbable and hope, well, just impossible.
That’s where the setup leaves us… But then, into that tomb of darkness, comes that incredible punchline! ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN, HE IS RISEN INDEED! Because if death can’t kill you, seriously, what can!? And if death isn’t the end, then maybe light has a chance too. Then maybe, along with death… violence, hatred and pain might just grab defeat from the jaws of victory and justice, peace, joy and love will make a buzzer beating come back! Maybe, just maybe, there could be reason… still… in spite of all evidence to the contrary… that maybe… in the dim, morning, light that shines way back into the far back corner of an empty tomb… maybe in there, just maybe… there’s a reason… for hope.
You see, this joke has the power to change EVERYTHING for EVERYONE! But man, do we have trouble remembering the punchline! The setup… well, that we seem to remember just fine, but it takes something miraculous for us to remember the punchline! And that’s EXACTLY why we tell the short version of this joke every week. Both setup AND punchline! I stand right back there and say, “Therefore we proclaim the mystery of faith.” And together we say both the setup AND the punchline… “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!” Because once we’ve remembered the punchline, THEN we can remember that impassable seas… well, those can be walked through! A childless family? Well, a whole nation of descendants can come from them! Hungry and thirsty? Bread can fall from the sky and water can be squeezed from solid rock. Once we’ve remembered the punchline, we can remember that terrible deserts ALWAYS give way to promised lands. That the blind end up seeing, the lame end up walking and five thousand hungry folks can eat their fill of fish sandwiches down by the sea, with baskets and baskets of leftovers to spare!
But that same punchline isn’t just there to remind us of someone else’s miracles from some long past time. That same punchline is also there to remind us that in our own lives… winter eventually gives in to spring, addictions can turn to sobriety… that the senseless deaths of children can be transformed into improbable movements, that dark, hopeless times can become light-filled, hope-filled times again. That punchline reminds us that that our anxiety can be replaced by peace and our sadness can be overcome with joy. Because if God has the power to turn death into life… well then, there’s no good, right or just thing in the world that remains impossible! So here’s my Easter prayer for us. Lead us, dear Lord, from death to life, from falsehood to truth; lead us from despair to hope, from fear to trust; lead us from hate to love, from war to peace and may this Holy, Easter laugh fill our hearts, our world, our universe with the endless possibilities that come with new life in You. Amen.
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