Text: John 20:1-18 Theme: Celebrating the resurrection Easter Sunday Ambiguity or, the Resurrection Comes Ready or Not For this Easter we had a choice between reading the Easter story in Mark or reading it in the Gospel of John. In the Mark version of the story the women got burial spices and at first light, when the Sabbath was over they went to the tomb to prepare Jesus body for burial the right way since they had been unable to do that on Friday night. When they get there a man in white told them that Jesus was risen, that he had already gone ahead of them to Galilee. The man in white said they should go and tell Peter and the other disciples. Verse eight, 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 and in the earliest of manuscripts there isn t even a period at the end of the sentence. The story just hangs. About the fourth century scribes uncomfortable with this almost ending began adding a conclusion and in our Bibles today there is the longer ending and the shorter ending. But Mark s original story ended at verse eight where there wasn t even a period much less a conclusion.
In the story from John, written decades after the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene ran to the tomb on the morning of the first day of the week and saw that the stone had been rolled away. She ran back to tell Peter and the others who came to see for themselves. After they left she stayed there crying until someone, she supposed a gardener called out to her why are you crying and then she knew she had seen Jesus risen from the dead. In this story she ran and told the others. I chose the Gospel of John as our reading because I liked the ambiguity in John s telling of the story. I liked it that Peter and the men came and left without witnessing Jesus appearance. I liked Mary standing there weeping until Jesus called out to her. I like in the Gospel of John the rush to let everyone know that Jesus had risen. But there is a part of me that wonders if the Gospel of Mark wasn t more accurate that caught between the power of terror and amazement, no one said anything lest they draw more attention to themselves. If we are feeling ambiguous about what this day means, if we have mixed feelings about the Resurrection we are in good company because the Gospels tell a mixed story. If you had a story to tell that was powerful, amazing and dangerous would you feel comfortable sharing it or would you hold it close until you figured out just how much danger
you might be in for sharing your story? This was the dilemma of the women on that first Easter morning. Jesus with God s love had raised Lazarus from the dead. It was not inconceivable that God s love could raise Jesus from the dead. But if the authorities found out might there be more violence, more crucifixions? We are safe, so safe two thousand years later from these kinds of worries. Unless, of course we are following Jesus and then you never know what kind of trouble might arise in the pursuit for a just community. It is difficult to celebrate the joy of Easter Sunday without the death of Jesus on Good Friday. New life comes after the walk to the cross. Eamon Duffy says, The cross is not some arbitrary demand of God imposed on a hapless victim, but a marker where human beings find themselves at the intersection of justice and mercy, time and eternity, death and life. Just as Jesus walked to Jerusalem and his certain death, so must we from time to time walk to the cross willing to spend time in hell to get to discover a path to new life. For some it is recognizing when a marriage is over and the painful work of separation begins. For others it is letting go of one way of life when a spouse dies so a different life can emerge. It may mean coming to terms with family members who have wronged or hurt you in the past and finding a way
to let go of the bitterness. For others it might mean temporarily taking a job to get out of an employment situation that sucks the life right out of you. Sometimes there needs to be a transition period before new opportunities can be found and yet the transition can feel like hell. James Finley, a psychologist says that we have to live in that axial moment that transcends suffering in the midst of suffering. Thanks to Jesus presence on the cross our darkness is never complete, within our hell subtle flashes of spiritual awakening occur every day. Still, we have some concerns about voluntarily having our own Good Friday experience as unsure as Jesus first followers that there would be an Easter morning. For many of us, our thoughts on the Resurrection are ambiguous. Something happened but what? Is this the kind of cornerstone we can build our lives upon? I thought it might be helpful to consider what different people think about the resurrection. So in each of your Easter eggs there is a reflection or a statement or some kind of testimony regarding the Resurrection. I m hoping these can help as we think about what we believe.
Jesus resurrection is the beginning of God s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That after all, is what the Lord s Prayer is about. N. T. Wright For those who believe in resurrection, death is inconsequential. It s not an ending but rather a new beginning. A second chance. The very idea of resurrection is so seductive a concept it s easy to forget, before you can rise from the dead you have to spend a few days in hell. Emily Thorne After death something new begins, over which all powers of the world have no more rights. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Endings are also beginnings. Indeed, without death, resurrection is impossible. Diana Butler Bass What was the scandalous meaning conveyed by the resurrection of Jesus? It was not simply that a dead man was raised. It was who this raised man was. Brian McClaren
The Resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter the circumstances. Robert Flatt Easter says you can put truth in a grave but it won t stay there! Clarence W. Hall This second meaning of Easter distinguishes experiences of Jesus from other experiences of somebody who has died. Studies suggest that about half of surviving spouses will have at least one vivid experience of their deceased spouse. But if they do, they do not exclaim, my Lord and my God, as if their spouse is now Lord and one with God. But there was something about the experiences of Jesus after his death that led to this exclamation. They were numinous experiences experiences of the sacred and not just ghostly experiences of a dead person. Marcus Borg Every religious tradition is rooted in mysteries I don t pretend to understand, including claims about what happens after we die. But this I know for sure; as long as we are alive, choosing resurrection is always worth the risk. Parker Palmer
The idea is that Jesus overcame death through the Resurrection. What that does is fail to appreciate the fact that the resurrected Christ is the crucified Christ. It s not like, Oh, that was just a mistake, now it s over. Jesus continues to suffer from our sins. Stanley Hauerwas If the Resurrection is resurrection from the dead, all hope and freedom are in spite of death. Paul Ricoeur Here s the simplest answer: Within weeks, the disciples proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that he had been raised from the dead and appeared to them. Josh McDonnell Without a doubt, at the center of the New Testament there stands the Cross, which receives its interpretation from the Resurrection. Hans Urs von Balthasar Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone but in every leaf of springtime. Martin Luther
The joyful news that he is risen does not change the contemporary world. Still before us like work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline and make the sacrifice. Henry Knox Sherrill I hope you have benefitted from hearing different thoughts on the resurrection. I think it matters not so much on what we believe but how willing we are you to embrace new life every time it comes around. We acknowledge there is some ambiguity in the Gospels but the Resurrection comes whether we are ready for it or not.