7^th April 2015

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Easter Sunday 2015

Lessons - Psalm 118:14-24; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Mark 16:1-8

'And the women went out and fled from the tomb; for terror and amazement had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.' (Mark 16:8)

Mark's account of the resurrection ends abruptly with those words. Scholars agree that vv 9-20 are not part of the original, being added much later as an expanded summary of appearances recorded elsewhere, mainly in Luke and Acts.

The Gospel ends without one report of Jesus appearing to disciples and without the slightest suggestion of joy. 

This is very odd! Mark's Gospel reaches its climax in Jesus' God-forsaken cry on the cross and the terrified silence of a few followers. This abrupt ending is so unusual that scholars ask whether Mark was unable to finish his story because of death, illness or imprisonment. There has been no shortage of attempts to find a 'more suitable' ending. 

It does seem strange that the instruction to the women to 'tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of them to Galilee' is not obeyed and that there is no report of a meeting. We might have expected some visual confirmation to assure them that evil had not won the day. But no! Instead of ecstasy, there is astonishment, terror, alarm, silence - and a promise! 

If Mark meant to end at v8, we can still hear the good news of the resurrection. The 'young man in white' tells the terrified women that the crucified Jesus 'has risen' and that, because of this, the tomb in which his body was 'laid' is now empty and that he will meet 'his disciples and Peter in Galilee'. Thus, Mark announces the essentials! Evil and death have not defeated Christ! The grave was powerless to hold his crucified body. 

Still, we would like a happier ending. Terror does not seem to be a good note to end a Gospel on. It is a bit discouraging! 

Perhaps this is what we need to hear, particularly as constant repetition of the Easter story predisposes us to look for the 'fairy-tale' ending. Because the resurrection has become predictable it no longer elicits in us a sense of awe. We know what is coming, thinking of it as the automatic conclusion to the Jesus story when, thankfully, the awfulness of the cross is left behind.

When Jesus' resurrection becomes too familiar we miss its earth-shattering significance. Believers can treat it superficially and sceptics can dismiss it flippantly. Sadly, both miss the point. 

Mark's abrupt end shows how Jesus' resurrection dislodges our certainties.

Remember that during his ministry when he was bodily present, many people were disconcerted by his power over sin, affliction and death. So it is here.

Mark shows that, even in the absence of his body, Jesus makes people disoriented - including his disciples. Ordinary emotions cannot cope with the miracle of his resurrection. 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.' (Hebrews 10:31) The proper reaction is that of the women who are so amazed by what they hear and see, that they flee from the tomb 'trembling in fear' (the Greek indicates a mind 'unhinged'). Jesus (even in his absence) still commands a sense of 'terrified awe' - the most powerful feeling of wonder, astonishment and agitation. 

The women's silence is also necessary in the face of this startling event!

Mark has often stressed the need for silence in response to Jesus so that his astonishing deeds are not misunderstood by false publicity. Perhaps at the end we might think that the need for silence has passed? But no! The resurrection, too, can be misunderstood: either as the resuscitation of a corpse (which will die later) or as a series of 'spiritual visions' (known in many faiths). The wonder of the event must be protected by a silence that recognises the inadequacy of words and visions to describe the mystery of the resurrection. 

Contrary to our first impressions, Mark's brief resurrection story does make the essential point. This 'awesome' event signifies that the mission of Jesus has not been ultimately defeated. Evil and death have been thwarted. Despite the horror of the crucifixion, the Christ's body has not been destroyed. He still embodies God's grace in and for the world. He continues to 'unhinge' the minds of his followers by challenging our preconceptions, unsettling our certainties and giving us real hope. 

This cn be assumed from the promise to the women at the tomb that the Risen One will 'go ahead of them to Galilee' (v7). This repeats the promise made by Jesus to his disciples in Gethsemane (14:28ff). Although Mark does not report the fulfilment of the promise, he tells us what we need to know about the resurrection. Visions are not necessary but believing in God's promises is! 

The reference to Galilee is important. It is the place where Jesus has already brought hope to so many abandoned, outcast, afflicted and godless people. His promise to return there is the sign that God's mercy and power over sin, evil and death has not been defeated. Jesus will continue to raise up the God-forsaken, heal broken bodies and spirits, forgive the wayward and bewilder all whom he meets. 

Galilee is also the place where Jesus called and taught his unreliable disciples. His 'going ahead' is the sign that he will continue to call frightened and cowardly men and women into the 'body of grace'. Neither Peter's denial nor the women's silence (v8) thwarts God's purposes. 

Mark's ending without any appearances of Jesus to disciples helps us see that there are no knock-down arguments for this unparalleled event. The resurrection is an event which remains hidden in the world because it can be only compared with God's creation of the universe 'out of nothing'. 

Perhaps Mark thought that including visions would make us rely on other people's encounters with the Risen Jesus instead of allowing ourselves, too, to be 'unhinged' by his unexpected presence. Perhaps (like Paul in 1Corinthians 15) he wanted to counter those who interpreted Jesus' resurrection as the survival of his ghostly spirit and not as the sign of hope for all of our physical and material bodily relationships?  

Importantly, Mark does not tell us 'how' Christ 'is risen'. There are no eyewitnesses. We are invited to believe that the resurrection of the crucified Jesus is the incomparable event of hope for a world where bodies are scarred, relationships are broken and the whole creation 'groans' under the impact of sin, affliction and death. 

The world needs to hear that these dreadful powers do not have the final word. We need to hear that the One who experienced abandonment on the cross is the One who continues to welcome the abandoned and sustain the very fallible community of faith. 

We should see to it that this 'incredible' event does not become predictable or commonplace. Otherwise it will be easily dismissed. It does not fit in with what we like to think is natural, reasonable or spiritual. It should greatly disturb us so that, like the women at the empty tomb, we experience a sense of 'trembling awe' that forces us to re-think what has become too familiar. 

Whether this is possible for us who know the ending in advance is unclear.

What is clear is that faith in the Risen Christ will be impossible without understanding why, on the first Easter Day, the women were so 'disconcerted' that they 'said nothing to anybody'. 

If we do understand, then we will open ourselves to the prospect of becoming 'unhinged'. Critics think that those who believe in the resurrection are seriously 'unhinged'! But, it is not a bad thing to be 'disoriented' by the bodily resurrection of Jesus. It means that we become 'oriented' to the Word of hope in a world where so many bodies are abused, trampled on, murdered and disrespected. When we are 'hinged' to the risen-crucified Jesus, then we will be 'connected' to God, the world and the community of faith in a completely new way.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is Minister in St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia.

Dr Champion is a member of the Council of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.