Good morning, Sunrise! I hope you are feeling God’s Spirit here with us as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, this Easter morning!
Today, our brothers and sisters in Christ are gathering all around the world to celebrate this special day with us. It is the most holy of all the days, trumping any other Christian holiday because the resurrection is the crux of our faith.
Last week, as we celebrated Palm Sunday, we journeyed from the celebratory entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem and then gravitated to his crucifixion. While as important as Good Friday is, it would mean absolutely nothing if it were not for Easter. Jesus' death would have meant nothing if the resurrection had never occurred.
But, somehow, the importance of this day is never quite emphasized as much as other days, such as Christmas. Thankfully, we have not secularized it or commercialized it to that extreme, at least not yet.
Still, the passion that should be associated with it is stunningly squelched though. In many churches, pastors are standing before their congregations, boldly proclaiming, “Christ is Risen!” only to be met with a half-hearted, “He is risen indeed.”
Really?!! Is the pinnacle event in human history really relegated to just a humdrum response to a call? If so, there’s a problem; a problem so dire that it threatens the life of Christianity.
Let me ask some of our resident physicians and medical professionals a medical question, “What does the term ‘Failure to Thrive’ mean?
(Failure to thrive can only mean one thing – death. What is death? The cessation of life!)
There are indications that this phenomenon is inflicting many churches in the United States and other developed nations of the world. They are beginning to experience a “Failure to Thrive.”
I have come to believe that probably one of the main causes for this malady is the difficulty we have with the focus of this day – the resurrection. Let’s be honest friends, it is much easier to understand and accept death than it is to try to rationalize someone coming back to life! Now, I know that you know people who were brought back to life after a few moments or minutes. As a former Paramedic, I witnessed this on several occasions. But in the case of Jesus, it was more than that.
Let’s ask our physicians again, “What’s the longest time you have seen where someone was successfully revived after being clinically dead?” [Allow response] “What about three days? In your rationalized professional opinion, is that possible?”
In all four gospels and in several of the letters of the New Testament, the writers all agree that Jesus was dead and buried for three days. Then he was revived! Resurrected! Sounds to fantastic to be true, doesn’t it?
Well, the author of the Gospel of Mark understood this rational dilemma as he wrote his account of the Resurrection. Let’s take a look at this account, right to the author’s original conclusion. You can find this in Mark 16, also on the screen.
1 The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased burial spices to put on Jesus' body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. 3 On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. 4 But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone -- a very large one -- had already been rolled aside. 5 So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, 6 but the angel said, "Do not be so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!" 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk.
Now for those who were caught the way I phrased something just a moment ago, this is where Mark’s Gospel originally ended. But over the course of 200-400 years, other writers have added alternative endings. Why? Because they didn’t like the way it originally ended.
Friday night, I sat down with my family and watched one of Stephen King’s horror movies, 1408. I found out that the ending that was finally released was an alternative ending because the director’s original ending was considered to be too horrific for audiences, so they amended it to one that would be more appealing.
The same is true for Mark’s original ending. As people read it, they did not like that it ended with the women running in fear and not telling anyone. They did not like that there was not a post-resurrection appearance by Jesus, so they added it in.
The problem with that is that as one scrutinizes Mark’s Gospel, it becomes clear that they missed the point. As Mark concludes his rendition of the Good News, it seems he invites, almost begs you go back and reread or rehear it, this time not just as one who hears of the historical Jesus, but as one who is now looking at where and how Jesus is living and acting in our world today!
Mark’s Gospel ends with the event of the Resurrection. There’s no question about that.
The Resurrection announces that God has not giving up on the world because this world matters. Everything in this world, the things we do, the words we say…matter because God loves you and me…and we matter to God.
But this peculiar ending also seems to be left unfinished. It leaves us with the question, “What happens next?”
I believe that was on purpose because Mark is basically saying, “This Gospel is unfinished because it is now in your hands. What becomes of the telling of the Good News of Jesus is up to you.”
It all comes back to that word, “Thrive.” Will the Gospel become a dull recitation “He is risen indeed”? Or will the Good News of Jesus Christ and his Saving Grace thrive and be a dynamic catalyst for the transformation of the world?
It’s up to you, my friends. It’s up to me.
Jesus Is Risen!!!
He Is Risen Indeed!!!
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