The Words of Mark's Angel

Mark 16:1-8

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.

In Matthew’s Gospel you get one angel, two Marys, and Jesus.  In John’s Gospel you get one Mary, two disciples, two angels, and Jesus.  In Luke’s Gospel you get two Marys, Joanna, other women, two angels, and Jesus.  But here… HERE in Mark’s Gospel you only get two Marys, one Salome, two angels… and… that’s it.  So how does Mark’s Gospel end? "Seized with terror and amazement they fled the tomb and said nothin’ to nobody!"  Done!  No Jesus.  Centuries later, Mark fans “fixed” it by adding in Jesus and another 8 verses, but where I stopped today, really is how Mark ended it.  So what do we do with no Jesus on Easter? 

We could, of course, just read John’s Gospel on Easter.  The lectionary police say that’s a completely acceptable way out of this “no Jesus on Easter” predicament.  But this year, with us having been locked in this pandemic tomb now for way longer than just three days… I think Mark's version might just be the story we need to hear again for the first time.  For the Marys, Salome, and the disciples, the world as they knew it had come crashing to an end.  Things they had always taken for granted… including the dead staying put in their tombs… had been tossed up in the air and had yet to land, who knows where, all around them.  

Our world too has been tossed up in the air and still has yet to land, who knows where, all around us.  Things we had always taken for granted… things as simple as going to the grocery store and sitting in a theater… those things still haven’t landed from being tossed in the air.  Just as those women’s heads were spinning then, our heads have been spinning for over a year now.  Everything… EVERYTHING!… has had to be figured out for the first time all over again… Everything is harder, more exhausting, more lonely… we’ve all… to one degree or another, spent this last whole year, just like those women in the story... seized with amazement and even terror.   

Could it be that after this last, long year, with all of us gripped in collective weariness, exhaustion, terror, and amazement… all struggling under the crushing weight of the unfathomable volume of death in this past year….  Could it be that on this Easter Sunday, when we’re feeling more like those women than perhaps we’ve ever felt before… waiting for it all to land wherever it’s all going to land… Could it be that the words of Mark’s angel, are this year, more than any other, a divine message spoken as much to us now, as it was to them, then?  

Let’s listen to the words of Mark’s angel, spoken directly to us this Easter:  Do not be alarmed my amazingly faithful friends.  I know… I really do know… that you are looking for normal, for comfort, for the companionship, for the life you’ve lost.  I know you are looking for a way through all of this grief and pain and isolation.  I know you’re looking for a guide… a Way… you’re looking for a savior… you’re looking for Jesus of Nazareth.  

Well, my friends, take a look around, He’s not here the same way he used to be, is he?  You’re all on screens and not in person… and rightly so!  But still, it’s not the same, is it? Before all this, you remember, the Bishop was here in person with all of you and then… in the blink of an eye it was all gone… changed in an instant and not in a way any of you liked!  And you may not like this next part I’m going to tell you either, but what comes next, after this pandemic, that will not be exactly like it was before either.  It just won’t be. 

But that truth doesn't mean your story has come to an end, my good and joyful, faithful friends of Christ Trinity!  Very soon now it will be time for you to GO!  Very, VERY soon now it will be time to get a move on, shake a leg, get cracking, get a wiggle on, put the hammer down, and even to move yur bloody arses!  Because while you all are still locked down here for the moment, again, just as you should be for now, Jesus has gone ahead of you… he’s out there, on the road, showing you where to go when it’s safe… when it’s time!

  

So, for right now, just get ready.  Get your spices together, get vaccinated, and keep masking up until everyone has their jabs and keep watch for the moment that this last bit of darkness comes to an end and the Son begins to rise!  Because as soon as the stone gets rolled back from this pandemic and the light shines into our year-old, locked-down tomb, you’ll need to hit the road running once again!  You’ll need to get out there!  You'll need to catch up to Jesus… begin walking the Jesus WAY out there again… creating your corners of kindness for hikers and bikers and Sheffield Priders.  You’ll need to get out there again, bringing joy to your neighbors with concerts and hot dogs and a reimagined Parish Fair!  You’ll need to get out there and meet up with Jesus, joining him outside again, bringing kindness into the world… a kindness that starts with you right here, and then just ripples out to who knows where!  Once that pandemic stone is finally rolled away, it will be time to GO!  Out there!  Because out there… THAT’S… that’s where you’ll see Jesus!  

The angel’s right you know?  Our story isn’t over, but it has changed.  The church we return to will never be exactly like it was before it was laid in this pandemic tomb over a year ago.  I suspect as we begin to experience that truth there will be some real sadness in that, just as there was for those women.  But for those women, the loss of what had been was not the end of their story, even if it was the end of Mark’s.  This pandemic and how things will look on the other side will likewise not be the end of our story either.  

The word from that angel to the women then, is the word from our angel to all of us now.  When this is over… when we see that the stone that has trapped us inside and apart for over a year is finally rolled away, our Easter angel will have already told us what to do!  We’ll know that the time has come to gather up the gang and Go!  Because it really is, out there, bringing joy and kindness into the world, where we will see Jesus.  Amen.