Amazed and Afraid

Alleluia, Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed; Alleluia!

The young man dressed in a white robe said, “He has risen; he is not here.” And then the Gospel of Mark tells us the women were amazed and terrified as they fled from the tomb.  They were afraid and said nothing to anyone about what they had observed.

It is an abrupt ending to Mark’s account.  But what kind of ending is it?  “He is not here.”  But where is he?  What happened; what does it mean?

One of the most difficult and important events in ministry is to be present with family members and their loved relative at the time of the relative’s death. It is often a time of waiting, watching and listening, a time of quiet thoughts, prayers for the patient and care-givers, and concern for the surviving family members.

After a physical death has happened there are arrangements to be made for a funeral or memorial service and burial.  It is a time of preparation, contacting a funeral home, notifying other relatives and friends, planning a service, and mourning the person who died.  There is emptiness, a void, feelings of grief and loss. 

One of the more helpful things to do when a person dies is to share stories about the relationships family members and friends remember.  This is sometimes done while planning for a church service.  Or it may happen during a service with remembrances or a eulogy.

As the Gospel of Mark tells the story, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome were mourning Jesus’ death when they went to the tomb to anoint Jesus.  They were concerned about what they would do once they got to the tomb.  They had purchased spices and oils to anoint Jesus’ body, and they questioned who would roll away the large stone from the entrance to the tomb.  When they got to the tomb they must have been surprised when they saw that the stone had already been rolled back. They were no doubt puzzled as they decided to enter the tomb. Then, upon entering they saw a young man dressed in a white robe.  They were alarmed, amazed and afraid.  What happened?  Where was Jesus?

The young man saw their distress and said, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.…  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.”

James Carroll, in his book, Christ Actually, writes, “The Gospel of Mark…is exceedingly spare in its description of the Resurrection, and there is a major clue in that for us…. Mark simply asserts, in the voice of the young man,…’He has risen, he is not here.’”  Then “the Gospel abruptly ends, with the women rushing from the tomb, ‘for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.’”

Carroll says the abrupt ending is full of implication. “That the story seems unfinished is fitting, since the finishing was going to happen not on the page, but in the lives of the followers of Jesus….As the followers of Jesus, while he was alive, expected to be led by him into the fulfillment of God’s restored realm, so, at his Resurrection, was that same expectation renewed.”

The resurrection is about Jesus of Nazareth entering into a new way of being, one that could not have been imagined prior to the first Easter.  Those who experienced the risen Christ on that Easter morning were fearful, in awe, and they struggled to explain to others what they witnessed.  We read about their experience and we restate the mystery of faith every time we celebrate the Eucharist:  “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”  There is only one resurrection, but by God’s grace, we are permitted to share in that resurrection.  By faith, we are united to the risen Christ.

Death and resurrection are mysteries; we do not and cannot fully comprehend them.  It is, however, in the proclamation and sharing of God's love with others, in the act of loving itself, that we can bring life where death has reigned.  And so it is that today we come to the empty tomb.  Jesus is not there. The Resurrection is not a one-time event.  It continues in the lives of Jesus’ followers.  Christ is risen into glory to bind us together in faith and hope for the future of all humanity.  Christ is risen.  Alleluia!  Happy Easter.  Amen.