Dear Friends
Mark 16: 6 – 8
‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ 8So 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.
Mark is the most uncertain of the Gospels. I’m sure St Mark must have struggled with doubt, and lack of confidence in his own personal abilities. His account of the resurrection is evidence for this. Is he really writing more from his own perspective rather than the women at the tomb? There’s very little triumphalism here, rather, fear as the women flee the empty tomb. ‘So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; There’s little about confidently spreading the Good News, rather, doubt at what the Good News was. Jesus’ body had disappeared! Could it have been stolen? Were they going to be implicated as the first to discover? So ‘they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.’
I can’t help warming to poor old Mark. Where so much of society today exhibits such certainty about what they are doing, and abut what is right and what is wrong, and demands such accountability from the actions of others, Mark seems to be far more humble, and far less sure, and far more confused by the busy world as a whole. If you read any of the other three Gospel writers when they speak of the resurrection they are much more definite! One of the problems we have as Christians is understanding how our faith impacts on the way we live in the confusing world of 2021. What difference does it make? Are we called to live differently from other people?
For instance, it’s all very well saying blandly that theft is wrong. Few would disagree with that. But in life today, it is rarely that simple. Is it really wrong for the poor beggar from Somalia to take something from the rich man’s table so he can feed his family? And I guess you or I would be very unlikely to take something knowingly from a shop without paying. However if you take your car to a carwash there is apparently a much higher chance that the people washing the cars will be slave labour than in many other spheres of life. And how careful are we to check about things like that. And that seems to be a theft of their time and liberty in which we are complicit. Just two examples of many, many dilemmas that we are knowingly or unknowingly faced with every day, in the supermarket, on the computer and in the way we spend our money.
If the resurrection means anything about life today, it surely challenges us to ask questions about the decisions we make and to wrestle with the answers. Rather like poor old Mark, when things seem clear cut, it is rarely that simple!
Pray to let the resurrection of Jesus affect the way you live today!
Risen Christ,
we praise you and we give you thanks for your glory
as we celebrate your resurrection today.
Fill our hearts with your love,
so that we too may renew the face of the earth.
as we celebrate your resurrection today.
Fill our hearts with your love,
so that we too may renew the face of the earth.
Amen.
A great Easter hymn to listen to:
Thine Be The Glory With Lyrics – Kings College Choir – YouTube
Every blessing for Easter
Andrew