Easter Vigil, Saturday, April 14, 2015 | 8:00 p.m.

Choose Your Own Adventure

John W. Vest
Associate Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church

Having heard the story of our faith from the very beginning, it’s time for the big finish—the climactic moment when it all comes together. It’s like the series finale of your favorite TV show. You’ve invested all this time and energy and interest, so you want the payoff to be good.

The last two shows that sucked me in this way were Lost and Breaking Bad. I was so committed to these storylines that I could hardly wait for the ending, and in both cases I was very satisfied. (I know that not everyone shared my enthusiasm for these finales, but that’s the gamble of bold storytelling.)

So here we are, eager to experience the conclusion to the series of scripture readings we’ve heard thus far. We’ve journeyed from God’s good creation on through corruption and purge and covenant, from captivity to liberation and back to captivity, from hope in redemption to the promise of a new covenant.

In the drama of our observance of Holy Week we have seen Jesus ride triumphantly into Jerusalem, challenge the religious and political leaders of his day, share a final meal with his disciples, endure betrayal and denial from his friends, and suffer torture and death from his enemies. We have held on to the hope that death is not the end of Jesus’ story.

Not content to wait for the sunrise of Easter morning, we have gathered here in the darkness of night, in the very first hours of the liturgical day, to hear something that will change our hearts and lives. We are committed. We are eager. We are ready.

Keep all of this in mind as we hear the conclusion of Jesus’ story as we find it in the Gospel of Mark. Try to remember all that we have heard. Try to remember the full story of Jesus as Mark tells it—his sudden appearance from obscurity; his submission to John’s baptism in the Jordan River; his fasting and temptation in the desert; his ministry of preaching, teaching, and miraculous deeds; his patience with disciples that never seem to get it; his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem; his predictions of death and resurrection. Remember all of this as we listen for God’s word in the final verses of Mark’s story of Jesus.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side, and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

That’s it. That’s the end. “Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” What kind of ending is that?!

Did you notice that something was missing? Like, Jesus? There’s no Jesus in this Easter story. There’s nothing but an empty tomb and a young man in a white robe. He tells the women to tell Peter and the rest of the disciples that Jesus has risen and will meet them in Galilee. But the women don’t even do that. They run away in fear and don’t say anything. Like the finale of The Sopranos, we simply cut to black.

Now, if you’re confused by this you might open up your pew Bible and note that there are in fact some extra verses that add more satisfying endings to Mark’s story. The first directly contradicts what we’ve heard and suggests that the women do in fact tell the disciples, who go on to spread the good news of eternal salvation. That’s a little better.

Some other verses describe how Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. When the disciples don’t believe her, Jesus appears to them as well and chastises them for their lack of faith. After commissioning them to spread the word throughout the world, Jesus flies up into heaven to be with God and—for the first time in the entire story—the disciples go and do exactly what Jesus told them to do. That’s a happy ending.

But Bible scholars are in almost universal agreement that these endings were added later, presumably by Christians not very happy with Mark’s original ending. They wanted a better resolution to the story. So, too, did the writers of the other three gospels, all written after Mark, who added lots of other stories about Jesus appearing to disciples and sending them out to change the world.

But for right now, I want you to forget all of that. Pretend like you’ve never heard the story of Jesus before. And listen again to the way Mark ends it.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side, and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

The best interpretations I’ve heard about what this might mean focus on the impact this abrupt and rather shocking ending has on an audience—not necessarily readers, mind you, because this story was originally written and told to people who couldn’t read. It was an oral performance. There are scholars out there who have gathered audiences to hear the entirety of Mark’s Gospel read out loud. And they’ve noted that this ending has a particularly profound effect. The audience is left wondering what happens next. Did the women really run away and not tell anyone? Did the disciples ever get the news? Did they ever meet up with Jesus back home in Galilee?

Interpreters attuned to the rhetoric of this Gospel suggest that by leaving this unfinished ending hanging out there at the conclusion of the story, it has the effect of drawing an audience into the story. It confronts us with a choice. If the women ran away in fear and the disciples never got the news, perhaps it’s up to us to finish the story. Because we’ve heard it. We’ve just been given all that we need to spread the good news of God’s love for the world, the good news that death is not the end of the story, the good news that no tragedy—even the death of God’s anointed one—is beyond the redemptive power of God’s love.

What are we going to do with that? Are we tempted, like whoever added the additional verses to the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel, to create a Hollywood ending and wrap this story up with a pretty little bow? Or are we comfortable letting the story end where it does, with ambiguity and uncertainty? Will we just think, “Oh, that’s nice—how clever,” and go back to our comfortable lives of privilege? Or does this story demand something from us? Will we share what we’ve heard? Or will we too run away in fear?

I don’t know if this means anything to you, or if you ever read these books yourselves, but when I was a kid I loved the genre of literature called “Choose Your Own Adventure.” If you aren’t familiar with this kind of book, it’s really pretty simple. The stories are written from a second-person point of view so that the reader is actually the main character. At the end of each short chapter, the reader is presented with a choice to make and each option directs you to a different subsequent chapter, thereby sending the plot into one of several different directions. Consequently, there were a variety of different ways the story could be told and multiple potential endings.

Growing up, my favorite “Choose Your Own Adventure” book was about Superman battling the sinister General Zod. There was a lot at stake. In my hands, through the choices I was asked to make, the salvation of the world hung in the balance.

Friends, I believe this is exactly what is happening at the end of Mark’s story of Jesus.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they could go and anoint Jesus’ dead body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb. They were saying to each other, “Who’s going to roll the stone away from the entrance for us?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away. (And it was a very large stone!) Going into the tomb, they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right side, and they were startled. But he said to them, “Don’t be alarmed! You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised. He isn’t here. Look, here’s the place where they laid him. Go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you.” Overcome with terror and dread, they fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

What will you do?