Easter Vigil – 2024 Mark 16:1-8 Lynne Smith, OSB
This is not the good news we are used to hearing at Easter time. Where are the stories of Jesus’ post resurrection appearance? Where is the joy at seeing him again? Where are the alleluia’s? Mark’s Gospel ends abruptly with amazement flight. We expect this of the male disciples in Mark. But not of the women too! Because of the other Gospel accounts, we expect the women to be the stars. They get what Jesus taught and are the first to believe. But not here. They too flee in fear.
What kind of resurrection story is this?
We are left with the mystery of an empty tomb, a heavenly messenger, what feels like an unfinished Gospel and an unknown future.
Having gone through Lent considering ways in which my life has fallen short of full discipleship, I can identify with the disciples in Mark’s Gospel. They never understand. They follow along trembling. They make all sorts of mis-steps until their fear gets the better of them, and they run away. They appear to be failures. But, honestly, aren’t we all flawed? Aren’t we all tempted to turn away when the way becomes challenging? Aren’t we all ruled by fear more often than we want to admit – especially in the face of suffering and death? So, where is the “Good News”?
Mark’s Easter account tells us that, when we fail, all is not lost. He leaves us with a promise: “…he is going ahead of you to Galilee: there you will see him, just as he told you.”
We are directed to “go back to Galilee,” go back to “the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” – the opening verse of the Gospel. Now we know that “he is going ahead of you.”
Mark’s ending of the Gospel is actually very Good News. It points us back to our daily lives and tells us that is where we will see Jesus, who was crucified. Even if we fail to grasp Jesus’ message, still “he is going ahead of us”. Jesus’ work in the world does not depend on the disciples being 100% faithful. Rather, it is founded on God’s gracious promise. Jesus, who was crucified, goes before us. The way of discipleship takes us through life, death, resurrection and new life, and Jesus leads the way.
In chapter ten Mark provides a picture of Jesus’ followers. “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid” (10:32).
It turns out that fear and doubt are part of following the Crucified One. In Gethsemane, even Jesus is distressed over what is before him. This is the same Greek word used about the women’s reaction at the empty tomb. It is the same reaction the crowds have upon seeing Jesus after the Transfiguration. “When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe,” However, “…they ran forward to greet him” (9:15).
Amazed, distressed, overcome with awe, we walk with Jesus through suffering and death to resurrection and new life. The way is embedded in our lives as followers of Jesus, the Crucified One. Have we not had experiences of coming to the end of our rope – through the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, through serious illness like cancer or depression, failure? Many of us have experienced suffering from which we thought we would not rise. And yet, we are here tonight witnessing to Jesus who goes before us, who has given us new life. We have experienced him in the Galilee’s and Gethsemane’s of our lives – in healing, sustaining us, opening a way for us, bringing about transformation in our lives. We meet him through people who serve and walk with us. We meet him in the Eucharist, the Body of Christ gathered here.
Our faith tells us that the promise of Jesus’ going before us extends beyond this life into the unknown future. When we pass through the transition that death brings, Jesus, the crucified one, will be there going before us to give us new life. And we will continue the journey with him. This, indeed, is Good News.