The Son Also Rises
An Easter Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
April 12, 2009
Abington Presbyterian Church.

Mark 16: 1-11
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ²And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ ⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, ‘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.

You might be familiar with bulletin bloopers. These unintentional statements are usually ironic and can be quite funny. For example, one church had this announcement in their bulletin: At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice. Another unintentionally announced: Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door. This Sunday, I fear Abington Presbyterian Church has entered the realm of bulletin bloopers. As we were proofing the bulletin I noticed that immediately following this sermon, the congregation will rise and sing, “The Strife is O’er”. I voted for “Thine is the glory.”

The gospel of Mark introduces the Easter story with these words: very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. The sun rises in the East every morning. It is an amazing reality that we take for granted. It happens every morning, (at times it seems much too early!) and most of us do not think about it very much. But something else rose that morning. Jesus Christ, the son of God, rose from grave. That is not ordinary. It does not happen every day. It is extraordinary, unbelievable… yet we are gathered together because, for us, it is believable. And if not believable, some are here because they hope and pray that it will be believable for them. Just as the sun rose that morning and every morning, so also, the Son of God, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. But it is not the beginning of Mark’s account of the resurrection that should intrigue us, it is the ending. Most scholars now agree that it ends with that 8^th verse. Let me read it again: ^“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.” This is not the way we want the Easter story to end.

The late Donald Juel wrote one of the definitive books on Mark’s gospel and in that book he told the story of one his students at Princeton who decided to memorize Mark’s gospel and then do dramatic readings of it in different settings. The first time he did it before an audience he got to the end and stood there. The audience was waiting to hear more, something that would complete the moment, and so he said, “Amen”. The audience responded with deep sigh and then applause. But after his performance he realized that he had been untrue to the Mark’s gospel. Mark wants to leave us with the sense that things are not finished. The Tomb is empty. Christ has risen. The women are told he has gone ahead to meet them in Galilee and there are afraid and they tell no one. (period). There are no resurrection appearances. No road to Emmaus. No meal by the lakeshore. Nothing that ends the tension. There is no Amen, just the promise that Jesus went ahead of them and would meet them in Galilee.

We need to remember Mark’s audience. Mark, the oldest of the gospels, was written for Christians who were suffering from persecution. Michael Sadgrove, the bishop of Durham, wrote: “To them, the words of the young man at the tomb would be deeply significant…” This “suffering church would not have misread the message that despite the resurrection, the risen Jesus wasn’t coming to rescue them from their time of trial just yet. But they were to cling on to the promise that he was going ahead. ’There you will see him.’” Mark concludes his gospel between the cross and Galilee. Christ was not present at the empty tomb… he had gone ahead… they would find him in Galilee. Mark leaves his readers with all kinds of loose ends and unfinished business. He leaves his readers, (like the women at the Tomb), in amazement and even fear. But most importantly he leaves his listeners with hope. He has gone ahead…. They will find him in Galilee. Galilee for Mark is not merely a place. It is a symbol for hope in the future. It is where we meet the risen Lord!

Mark’s Easter challenges us to believe; to have faith that he will be there in the future. Christ is risen, but the promise of Easter is not yet completely present. The gift of the Empty Tomb is hope.. hope that we will see him in Galilee. Hope.II

I must confess that the Easter story in the gospel of Mark was not my favorite version. Mathew, Luke and John, seem more complete. There are no loose ends and the when we finish them we want to shout, Alleluia. Mark is leaves us wondering. Yet, with age, I have come to appreciate Mark’s Easter story, because it is realistic and true to life. Life has its loose ends. Things are not always neat. There is not always resolution. We live and we die with questions. Our sciences are become more and more adept at explaining how things happen…. But we don’t always understand why things happen and there is often a gaping hole of emptiness in our spirit.

In this Post-modern age, doubt often rules the day. The recent issue of Newsweek reports that the fastest growing religious group in the United States is unbelievers. Those of us in the churches, when we are absolutely honest, often struggle to believe. The “pat answers” that satisfied previous generations don’t satisfy us. We struggle with the unfairness of life. If the truth be told, we are not too different than those women at the tomb. We come to this Easter Sunday with our individual emptiness, confusion, and disbelief. I believe that this is where Mark’s gospel speaks so powerfully to our generation. He does not hit us over the head with doctrine, with prescriptions, or with easy answers. He gives us room to live with our doubts, our difficulties, our fears. Mark’s Easter challenges us to believe…. His gospel does not rely on proof, but on faith. At the core of his Easter message is hope. He has gone ahead and will meet us in Galilee.

One of my favorite biblical passages is from Paul’s letter to Corinthians. It follows his great discourse on Christian love. He describes the human condition that all of us experience with these words: “Now we see in a mirror dimly…” That was also the experience of the women that morning at the empty tomb. They could not completely grasp what had happened. It was for them a moment of fear, awe, belief and disbelief. In the words of Paul.. they experienced the event of Easter… seeing “in a mirror dimly”. But then the promise of Easter is given to them by the young man dressed in the robe. He tries to calm them down, “Do not be afraid”. And then he gives them the promise… Jesus has gone ahead, you will meet him in Galilee. There, in Galilee, they will see face to face. Easter is the event that is ultimately fulfilled in the encounter in Galilee… but in Mark’s gospel, that is in future.. But hope is always oriented toward the future.

Henri Nouwen tells of visiting a dying patient in the hospital. The visit ended and prayers were offered. It was time to say good-bye, and he said: “I will see you soon.” “I will see you soon.” They both knew that it was only a few hours… but the genius of that good bye was that it acknowledged the reality of the resurrection…. “He has gone ahead to Galilee.. there you will see him.” … I will see you soon.

Today is Easter, and we like those faithful women are confronted with the reality of the empty tomb. Our empty tomb is seen in the doubts, the worries, the fears, the anxieties, the problems that beset modern humanity. Our open tomb is experienced in the moments when we are left with loose ends and feel the emptiness deep in our spirit.

We are looking for a messiah.. someone who will break the chains that drag us down… Someone who will share the weight and burden of life today. Perhaps that is what draws us together today… Some are here with an unshakeable belief, others with doubts and concerns; some with questions that have gone unanswered… Perhaps some with no belief at all….. yet here because of a hunger for hope. We are here this Easter morning and hear the words: “you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.” Then we hear the promise… He has gone ahead and will meet you…. That is our hope.. Easter faith looks ahead… courageously moves toward the future.. and longs for its fulfillment in Galilee. He is there.. you will find him. This is the good news.