Mark 16:1-8
Mark's gospel has the strangest ending, "...they said nothing to my one, for they were afraid."
Many future writers never liked this ending, so they added onto it. It's an appropriate ending though.
All through the gospel of Mark there is an immediacy, to it. In many places where Jesus heals people he instructs them to tell no one. Yet today its the exact opposite, go tell Peter and the disciples. Go tell that the risen Jesus will meet you in Galilee. They don't go and tell, if you believe the first ending. See in Mark's gospel everyone tells when Jesus asks them not to, but today they are afraid. The thing is we don't have to fix this ending, it's a great ending. Because we know the story didn't stop there and we get to ask a very important question of self examination.
How many times do we let fear over take us. Now fear is a great thing, it keeps us from danger and we have responses in fear which keep us safe. Sometimes though, we have responses which don't work well for us, they can keep us frozen, protective, not telling anyone about our experiences. I have an irrational fear of the dark. I can let it keep me frozen in place and miss the wonder of the night sky, night animals or I can let it go and experience the beauty and slide down a hill and hear the trees crack, or skate on the ice in a full moon and have fun with friends. If I held onto this fear, I would miss out on all of that.
Fear can do this. It can make us not live, not leave our house, not go out the door, protect ourselves from dangerous things. Do we live fully, or do we let fear bind us? Its a good question to ask. In the Ignatian examine it is one of the questions for reflection, what do you fear? In picking up our fears and looking at them we can understand ourselves better and sift through what is real and what is not. We can go on to live more fully and more fully know ourselves.
The women at the tomb today? Well, we know fear didn't hold them, or we wouldn't be here now. This is just the first of many encounters with the risen Christ that are written and this account is just in facing an empty tomb and a man there. Can you imagine, would you go and tell? Or would you be fearful, they will think I'm a nut. There is no way anyone would believe this story, we didn't even see Jesus. How can a dead person get out of a sealed tomb, is it real? How many different fears can you think of which would stop you? And still the word gets out.
Because it is a wonder filled answer today is. The message is far reaching, beautiful, different, unconditional and it isn't the first time God has tried to get us to look at this. Look at it! Death does not have the final say on life. God loves us, truly loves us enough to die and rise to prove it. Love is a sacrifice to one another. We should love one another as Christ has loved us. A whole chapter on love, on gifts of the Spirit which includes all the things which are so hard for us to do. Patience, kindness, self-control, gentleness, joy, hope, faith, and love, yes love again.
We should be bursting with this message because the world needs to hear it. Needs to not be controlled by fear. To listen to one another, to be reconciled to one another, to take on the form of a servant, to not be in control of events, to hear the gospel good news of freedom, of out pouring love which doesn't end, of abundance, of reconciliation we can stand in fear or we can stand in the light of Easter dawn and proclaim it all. All of these messages and so many more written by people like you and I just trying to figure it all out.
First though, first we have this choice. Do we stand in fear, or do we plunge over the edge and into resurrection hope? If we dare there is a world waiting out there to hear it. Waiting to hear that fear cannot enslave us and love, resurrection love can set us free.
Mark's gospel has the strangest ending, "...they said nothing to my one, for they were afraid."
Many future writers never liked this ending, so they added onto it. It's an appropriate ending though.
All through the gospel of Mark there is an immediacy, to it. In many places where Jesus heals people he instructs them to tell no one. Yet today its the exact opposite, go tell Peter and the disciples. Go tell that the risen Jesus will meet you in Galilee. They don't go and tell, if you believe the first ending. See in Mark's gospel everyone tells when Jesus asks them not to, but today they are afraid. The thing is we don't have to fix this ending, it's a great ending. Because we know the story didn't stop there and we get to ask a very important question of self examination.
How many times do we let fear over take us. Now fear is a great thing, it keeps us from danger and we have responses in fear which keep us safe. Sometimes though, we have responses which don't work well for us, they can keep us frozen, protective, not telling anyone about our experiences. I have an irrational fear of the dark. I can let it keep me frozen in place and miss the wonder of the night sky, night animals or I can let it go and experience the beauty and slide down a hill and hear the trees crack, or skate on the ice in a full moon and have fun with friends. If I held onto this fear, I would miss out on all of that.
Fear can do this. It can make us not live, not leave our house, not go out the door, protect ourselves from dangerous things. Do we live fully, or do we let fear bind us? Its a good question to ask. In the Ignatian examine it is one of the questions for reflection, what do you fear? In picking up our fears and looking at them we can understand ourselves better and sift through what is real and what is not. We can go on to live more fully and more fully know ourselves.
The women at the tomb today? Well, we know fear didn't hold them, or we wouldn't be here now. This is just the first of many encounters with the risen Christ that are written and this account is just in facing an empty tomb and a man there. Can you imagine, would you go and tell? Or would you be fearful, they will think I'm a nut. There is no way anyone would believe this story, we didn't even see Jesus. How can a dead person get out of a sealed tomb, is it real? How many different fears can you think of which would stop you? And still the word gets out.
Because it is a wonder filled answer today is. The message is far reaching, beautiful, different, unconditional and it isn't the first time God has tried to get us to look at this. Look at it! Death does not have the final say on life. God loves us, truly loves us enough to die and rise to prove it. Love is a sacrifice to one another. We should love one another as Christ has loved us. A whole chapter on love, on gifts of the Spirit which includes all the things which are so hard for us to do. Patience, kindness, self-control, gentleness, joy, hope, faith, and love, yes love again.
We should be bursting with this message because the world needs to hear it. Needs to not be controlled by fear. To listen to one another, to be reconciled to one another, to take on the form of a servant, to not be in control of events, to hear the gospel good news of freedom, of out pouring love which doesn't end, of abundance, of reconciliation we can stand in fear or we can stand in the light of Easter dawn and proclaim it all. All of these messages and so many more written by people like you and I just trying to figure it all out.
First though, first we have this choice. Do we stand in fear, or do we plunge over the edge and into resurrection hope? If we dare there is a world waiting out there to hear it. Waiting to hear that fear cannot enslave us and love, resurrection love can set us free.
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