Easter Sunday 2018            They told No One?                                                                 

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.

                                                                                        Mark 16:8

Every Easter I try to take a fresh look at the Easter passages I preach on, and this year I chose this verse from Mark 16:8. This verse, was the original ending of the gospel of Mark. Mark begin his gospel with the Euangellion – greek for the announcement of God’s victory over the powers of sin and death in Jesus Christ. And then Mark concludes his gospel with saying that the women said nothing to anyone for they were afraid. Really?

To understand why Mark ends his gospel this way, one must look at the whole of his gospel, and recognize a recurring theme. In Mark’s gospel Jesus heals the sick, drives out demons, cleanses lepers, and works a variety of miracles, yet, after each of these occurances, Jesus tells those he has healed and his followers to tell no one what has happened. This is the famous, Messianic Secret of Mark, as described by scholars. Quite simply, Jesus doesn’t want people to follow him because he is a miracle worker, but to decide for themselves, from his preaching, if he is the Son of God.

Unfortunately, the gospel of Mark tells us that this secret cannot be hid, and many times those who are healed, forgiven, and cured go off and sing Jesus praises, and drawing to him greater and greater crowds. There is that wonderful passage from Jesus entrance to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, where the chief priests and leaders tell Jesus to silence his followers, and Jesus replies, If I told them to be silent, the stones themselves would cry out!”

Last night I watched again the “Ten Commandments”, where the Israelites cried out to God, and God heard their voice. The apostle Paul speaks about how Jesus cried out under the oppression of the corrupt Jewish leaders, Rome, and God heard his voice. Throughout history, when the people of this world have been enslaved and oppressed, they have cried out, and God has heard them. In our own nation, when the slaves cried out at the injustice of slavery, God heard them. In the 1890’s children were forced to labor in sweat shops, they cried out and God heard them. When women cried out against the injustice of not being allowed to vote God heard them, When African Americans were denied their civil rights, they cried out and God heard them. And today when our youth cry out for safety in their schools, God hears them.

The scientific view of God is that God is somewhere far above, pulling our strings, or guiding events, or just watching us go. But for those who have faith, God is in our midst, listening, speaking, and working on the side of goodness and justice and life. Yet in faith, we must be willing to receive this grace, by stepping up and speaking out, by acting with compassion for others, and seeking justice for all. And yes, this includes suffering ourselves, so that a better world may be realized for everyone.

The reason the gospel of Mark ends this way, with the women running from the tomb, terrified and amazed, and say nothing to anyone is that Mark is asking us to make a decision. Those who have read the gospel, and seen the miracles of Jesus and heard his preaching, are called to make a choice, will they keep silent out of fear, and the powers of sin and death to reign over us – of are we going to speak up and cry out, are we going to proclaim his resurrection – that God is not dead but alive in us, and ready to work with us to realize God’s kingdom of justice, righteous-ness and peace in our lives.

Every Easter, we are invited to make that choice for our lives, and for those who choose Christ as their Lord and Savior, they still face the same trials of life that all of us face, but they do not do it alone, for standing with them is the Risen Christ! And that’s our good news this Easter Sunday!