Scriptures for Sunday, April 8th:
Easter Sermon
Have you every just missed out on something? Been the 10th caller to the radio station when the prize was given at 9? Seen the love of your life across the room, only to have someone else sit down and talk with her before you can get to him or her? Miss out on a concert, a museum, a date, or whatever, because you overslept.
Sometimes being near, but just missing something, can be incredibly disappointing. In fact- there is a name for this type of reaction- The Silver Medal Effect. You would think winning the silver medal in the Olympics would be a crowning achievement, but a 1995 study showed that often the Silver medalist was the saddest person on the program. While the bronze medalist was just happy to be there, the silver medalist can only think about all the little things that kept them from winning. At least initially, being so close to greatness causes real pain.
The disappointment of just missing out on something is to me the key to understanding this almost bizarre ending of Mark. If you still have your bible out, take a look real closely at that 16th chapter of Mark. It looks like it continues on after we stopped, but you’ll also see some little bracket marks in the text that follows. You see, our best research shows that Mark actually ended at verse 8 and that later monks, when copying down the book, added some additional verses that got put into the Bible.
Let’s take a look one more time- how do the female disciples respond to the news of the resurrection:
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.
Wow- what a disappointing ending to the story. Can you imagine watching the movie- you see the stone roll away, you see the woman recoil in terror, and then, credits?
Its no wonder the monks tried to do a little creative editing. Compared to the other Gospels, Mark seems to have a terrible ending.
But in a way- it makes perfect sense.
Jesus had told the disciples over and over again that this would happen
He was going to confront the religious and political authorities, would stand up for the poor and oppressed, and would die
And the disciples would respond by almost laughing at him- ah, quiet down there Jesus...that’s terrible pr.
They just didn’t get it. They were happy to come along for the journey when it was easy, but as soon as it got hard, they bailed out.
One by one, each of the disciples abandon Jesus. They see the violence and injustice of the world, and they slink away in fear.
Then- the amazing thing happens- Jesus is resurrected!
You would think- the reaction should be amazing- but I think the disciples realized something- they had had a chance, a chance to be part of something spectacular.
You see- Jews everywhere had been longing for the day when the general resurrection would occur- when God would come to earth and restore justice throughout the land, would bring about peace and would turn on its head the evil powers of the world. Liberty would be proclaimed to the captives
We tend to think of resurrection as escaping to somewhere else. Getting out of this world and strumming on harps somewhere. But that is not how Jews understood resurrection, and it isn’t how the story goes. Jesus defeats death, and is raised right here on earth. He goes to Galilee and gets to work. In Mark- there is always a divide between the city and the country- between rich and poor, powerful and powerless. Galilee is in the middle of the country where Jesus did his best work. Jesus goes back to work amongst the poor and powerless, and calls the disciples to join him there.
And I think the disciples are embarrassed, ashamed. How could they bail out on the most spectacular adventure they ever had a chance to be a part of. How could they miss out on resurrection? “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.”
The disciples fail- but by now, we know better. We’ve been in on the joke. When Judas betrays Jesus- we say, oh that terrible Judas. When Peter denies Jesus, we say, Oh, if only he had known.
But here is the thing- we know. We’ve heard the story. We know it ends with Jesus’ resurrection. The key is what are we going to do now.
When I was growing up, they had this certain brand of books called “Choose your own adventure.” Do any of you remember them? The book would begin with a bit of background, but as soon as the plot would get rolling, the characters would face some kind of choice. They are searching for a treasure. If they should look in the cave, turn to page 126. If they should look in the woods, turn to page 145. You would go through this over and over and the book would end based on the choices you made.
In a way, the book of Mark is a great starting point for a choose your own adventure novel. We have followed Christ. Christ carried out wonderful acts of healing. He showed us a new way to live. He refused to accept that the world as it was was the way the world should be. When he sought to stand up for the oppressed, he was arrested and crucified. But, that wasn’t the end. Evil would not prevail. The adventure was not over. Jesus was raised from dead. The tomb was empty!
But, now we are faced with our choice. If you want to abandon Jesus, tuck tail and run, turn to Mark Ch 16 Vs. 8. We cower in fear. The story ends.
But, if you want to follow Jesus, there is a new page to turn to.
One in which we go from the pews into the city council, state legislators or wherever and demand justice for the poor and oppressed in the land
One in which we care about making the world more beautiful- where we paint joy on the desolate landscape, where we sing joy where the music has gone silent.
A story in which we are bathed spectacularly in love- a love that knows no bounds- a love not restricted by race, or gender, or sexual orientation, or socio-economic status.
A story that continues with us shedding our fears and working alongside Jesus in bringing good news to the poor, in setting the captives free, in joining with Jesus to build a kingdom in this world so that heaven is joined with earth and peace and righteousness rule the land.
It continues to be difficult to do that kind of work. We can get hurt. We can get disappointed. People will stomp on the new flowerbeds we plant. People will take advantage of us. If we go to our government and demand justice for the poor- we might be laughed at, or even scorned.
But, my friends, we know the ending. The good that we do will not be in vain. “The resurrection showed once and for all that all the good in the world will be vindicated, not wasted.”
Mark is a brilliant Gospel writer simply because he refuses to tie up the story with a neat little bow. He demands something even greater- he demands us to join in and write the next page of his story. There is something spectacular going on. Don’t miss out.
