April 12, 2009 | Easter Sunday | Sunrise Service

Just as He Told You

Victoria G. Curtiss
Associate Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church

Mark 16:1–8

My husband Kent and I love theater. Twice we have watched plays that had no conclusion. One was based on the novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens, who died of a stroke when it was only half written. Dickens had told a friend that he was interested in writing a novel about a nephew murdered by his uncle, but he guarded his mystery very closely, so there is much conjecture as to how it was to end. The second play was also a murder mystery, this one entitled Shall We Join the Ladies, a one-act play never finished by J. M. Barrie. After the performances of both these plays, the audience was invited to vote on which character was the murderer. We were encouraged to finish the story.

Some believe the Gospel of Mark doesn’t have a complete ending. Not that Mark didn’t finish it: he wrote about forty years after the events occurred. Perhaps the parchment of the end of the scroll on which it was written was torn away and lost. It ends so abruptly. There are only five verses describing what happened after Jesus died. After a man sitting in an empty tomb says to the women to go tell the disciples that they would see Jesus in Galilee, the women flee from the tomb in terror and amazement and say nothing to anyone for they are afraid. Period.

We tend to add to the story from what we know from the other Gospels and portions of scripture. We may have assumed that the women were full of joy, like we are when we hear that Jesus is risen from the dead. Indeed, a later writer just couldn’t let the Gospel of Mark end here, adding accounts of post-resurrection appearances and the ascension of Jesus for a longer ending.

But most biblical scholars agree that this is where Mark ended it: with the women telling no one, because they were afraid. Perhaps Mark wanted to reinforce for his readers how absolutely unexpected Jesus’ resurrection was for the women. In their time, as theologian Alister McGrath puts it, “Judaism offered a variety of understandings of resurrection, ranging from outright denial to the hope of a future general resurrection at the end of time. Yet the idea of the resurrection of an individual in the here and now was not even a remote possibility” (Resurrection, p. 6). Nothing in their Jewish inheritance could have prepared the women for what they observed. No wonder they were so frightened: the empty tomb made no sense.

Alister McGrath points to a deeper theme here. Throughout the Bible, when humans encounter the divine, they respond with fearful reverence. When God appeared in the burning bush, Moses hid his face, for he was afraid. When Mary and later the shepherds first hear of Jesus’ birth, the angels say, “Do not be afraid.” The glory of God is overwhelming and leaves those who’ve faced it forever changed.

What all that change meant probably took weeks, if not months, for Jesus’ disciples to integrate. If Jesus really is alive, then all the things he said must be true, too. Like his teaching that those who lose their lives for his sake will find them. That true abundance comes from giving away our possessions. He said the meek shall inherit the earth, and the oppressed shall be liberated. He taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, to take up our cross and follow him. He proclaimed eternal life. There are cosmic consequences, because Christ was raised from the dead. Goodness is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate. Life is victorious over death. We too will be raised from the dead. It took the early Christians time to hammer out the theological implications of resurrection. But Christ’s rising also had an immediate, personal impact. His followers were willing to risk their lives on him.

Last week I asked the Bible study group that meets weekly at Fourth Church what they thought if indeed Mark intended to end his gospel here. What did that leave us? One thought it left us nothing. Without post-resurrection appearances by Jesus, there is no proof. Another group member thought Mark gave us all we need to know: The man dressed in white made an announcement. He reminded the women that Jesus had, in fact, told them what would happen next. “Jesus is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.” Just as he told you. The member said Jesus told us he would always be with us. It is a matter of faith that we take him at his word.

I said to the Bible study group, “Most of us have only had what the women had up to that point. We believe because we have been told that Jesus is risen. Most of us haven’t experienced a personal appearance by the risen Christ . . .” and then my voice trailed off, because even as I said those words, I was sensing that may not be true. The story does continue with us. So I said, “How have you experienced the risen Christ?”

What ensued was an amazing sharing of stories as one after another told of a time in their lives when they experienced God’s presence firsthand. One man recalled when he was seventeen and not sure what to do with his life. He was walking along the shore of Lake Michigan, perhaps not far from here, and sensed Jesus walking alongside him. He heard Jesus say, “What are you worried about?”

Another remembered when her daughter became quite sick while they were far from home and any family or friends. She felt Jesus’ hand on her shoulder. There could have been many complications getting her to the hospital and getting the right treatment, but the path cleared in front of her, and all the right doors opened.

Another said that there were days when he felt God’s absence, but he had learned over time that if he prayed and waited, he would again feel God’s presence. He senses God communicating with him regularly.

Another told of a time in his life when all on the same day he learned that his kidneys were failing, his wife only had six months to live, and his mother had just died. He prayed, “God, somehow you’ve got to give me strength” because it was all too much for him alone. He told us, “The fact that I got through that time is how I know God was with me.”

The church’s chimes started to ring, signaling the end of our hour, when one member turned to me and said, “How about you?” I said, “I could tell you, but I want to have time for us to pray before we break up,” which we did.

Did I cop out? Maybe a little. Resurrection is so profound and mysterious it leaves me partly speechless. At times I believe only because of what scripture says or because the church as a whole carries me on the wings of its liturgy, creeds, and community of believers. But I, too, have had moments I could have described. Like the time when my family had moved to a new city where I had few friends, I worked alone, and my husband wasn’t sure his job was the right match. I became so depressed I prayed, “God, my life doesn’t mean much to me right now. But I know it means something to you. So please help me.” My spirit lifted. I remember talking to my best friend for the last time over the phone as she was dying from cancer and we both knew it was the last time. I said, “I love you. I will see you on the other side”—words that welled up from a deep place of certainty in my heart. I remember numerous but nonetheless amazing times when people strongly opposed to one another became reconciled and found ways to move forward together.

Every day you and I get up with the sun and take Jesus at his word. That is how healing happens and new life bursts forth—by our acting on what Jesus lived and taught. Mark’s story of Easter is open-ended. He laid out the plot pretty clearly. Jesus refused to remain dead and buried. Jesus is alive and going ahead of us, ready to meet us. By leaving it unfinished, Mark left the story for us to complete. We write the ending by the way we live out lives. Let us live out the Good News: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!