Hope Springs from our Losing Battles

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday April 8, 2012, Easter Sunday.

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Isaiah 25:6-9

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

1 Corinthians 15: 1-11

Mark 16:1-8

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Our reading this morning is distinct among the gospel accounts of the resurrection. In Mark’s version we hear a most unlikely resurrection story. It’s a resurrection without Jesus. We’re left with an empty tomb, everything is left up in the air. Later editions of Mark’s gospel add stories of Jesus with Mary Magdalene and the apostles. There is another piece that adds a version of the ascension.  But these verses, the verses following the eighth, were added at least 250 years later. This oldest, most reliable version of Mark’s gospel leaves us with an empty tomb, but that is not how it begins.

It begins with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome with spices, spices they would use for their Lord’s burial. Now, why bring the spices? The spices were to prepare the body and should have been used before Jesus was placed in the tomb. But I ask then, why the spices at all? The purpose of the spices was to preserve the body. The preservation of the body and the aromatic quality of the spices would help keep down the wretched smell of decay. After the three days from Friday to Sunday, a corpse that was not handled properly would begin to stink. We learn this from the death of Lazarus and he was placed in the tomb properly. Even from the sealed tomb, there would be an odor.

Friends, these three women knew they were about to fight a losing battle with the spices. From their combined experience they would have known that when they reached the tomb what they were prepared to do would have been at least ineffective and at worst a waste of time. Still they went, not out of obligation, but out of love.

They also knew that once they reached the tomb, opening it would have been nearly impossible. The stone was probably round like a millstone. To seal the tomb it would have rolled and dropped into a groove carved out for it. It would have been fairly easy to roll in, but very difficult to roll out. They knew, they even said to one another that this was going to be a losing battle. From their combined experience they would have known that when they reached the tomb what they could do would have been at least ineffective and at worst a waste of time. Still they went, not out of obligation, but out of love.

Earlier this week I read a little nugget of wisdom about human endeavor in scripture. This piece of wisdom was that scripture is filled with human failure. It’s kind of demoralizing to say, but it’s true. It doesn’t require a close study to see that people mess things up. Sometimes messes are caused by disobedience. Other times it’s circumstances playing themselves out. This is an example of the latter; there was really nothing these women could do at the tomb. They were on a fool’s errand. But I say again; they went, not out of obligation, but out of love.

When they arrived, they found what they were not expecting. They found the tomb open. They did not find a stench. They found a young man in a white robe and they were alarmed. Friends, we know how this ends so we can smile in the firm and certain knowledge of what has happened; but at this moment these women did not. Being “alarmed” would have been the only responsible reaction to what they found at the tomb.

So the young man cries out “Do not be alarmed!” (Yeah, right, sure…) Then he tells them while they were still alarmed and on their way to being afraid, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!”

The Reverend Doctor Michael Jinkins wrote: “Over seventy years ago, a young minister named Karl Barth addressed a group of ministers and told them why people came to church.  His words became a clarion call to his generation and they still echo today.  He said that on any given Sunday morning, when the bells ring calling the people to worship, there is in the air an expectancy that something great, something crucial, something momentous is going to happen.  People, he said, come to church wanting to know the answer to one question above all else: ‘Is it true?’”[i] This ending of Mark’s gospel causes the reader to ask that very question.

Mark’s gospel has none of the meticulous precision of Luke’s. Matthew’s many references to the Jewish Law are missing too. Mark makes us ask questions—and this ending makes us ask the questions, “Is it true? Did Jesus rise from the dead?” Today we testify, “Yes, he is risen.”

This is a bold statement of faith. It doesn’t come to us by scientific method, but that’s not what a faith statement does. Faith is the “firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”[ii]

Our faith is founded on the truth of the freely given promise in Jesus Christ, the Messiah given to us in the word written and proclaimed, the promise that he is with us through the ages. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s own spirit, we are able to interpret the word finding God’s loving kindness toward us as Jesus continually intersects our lives.

Our faith cannot be founded on what we do because to find faith in our failures is futile, and this is the Good News. If our works are in vain then our hope can only come through the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus. This morning we read of three women who approach the Lord with hope, hope that their impending failure will have any effect at all. They go to fight a losing battle, but by showing up, they see that by Christ the battle is won.

Hope springs from their losing battles, hope springs from our losing battles because our failures give God room to work miracles.

Through faith and hope we find the Lord at work in our lives. Through faith and hope we become free to live in the truth of Jesus Christ. Through faith and hope, we can become sure of the meaning of our own existence, our own humanity.  Through faith and hope can we say “He is risen.”

We testify our faith in Jesus as our risen Lord using the words of the Apostle’s Creed. But the creed is not about our faith, it is about the one in whom we have faith. The words describe the triune God as the church understands each of the three persons. The creed reminds us Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried; and on the third day he rose again from the dead.[iii] The words of the ancient church for over 1,800 years, the creed has helped us state what we believe about the triune God.

We bear witness to our confidence in the faith through the sacraments, the outward signs instituted by God to convey inward grace.[iv] One of the marks of the true church is the right administration of the sacraments.[v]

In the waters of our baptism we are born, cleansed, and live. The waters provide refreshment for our bodies and our lives. Baptism initiates us, brings us into the body of Christ. Jesus rose from the waters of the Jordan and when we come from the water we are new in Christ. From the tomb of the waters and from the tomb of the grave, He is risen.

As we journeyed together along the road to Golgotha this week we are fortified with the meal of grain and vine, the bread and the juice. “Through this bread, there comes about what we see in the gospel: a fellowship of pilgrims, a fellowship gathered around the apostles, a fellowship of a meal that includes everyone, a fellowship of one single pilgrim path to God.”[vi] This is the meal we share until Christ comes again in glory.

People of faith and people seeking faith want to know, “Is it true?” Mark leaves the question up in the air. Being told “he is risen,” in the last verse of the gospel, the women who came to prepare Jesus’ body left the tomb terrified and amazed. Barth frames our quest this way: “They reach, not knowing what they do, towards the unprecedented possibility of praying, of reading the bible, of speaking, of hearing and singing of God.”[vii] For us, God is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to answer Barth’s question with hope and confidence.

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome left the tomb afraid to speak to anyone. They were told to spread the news of the empty tomb, Jesus is returning to Galilee. We are called to spread the good news too. Through the hope of God’s loving kindness we can live a life of faith daily. We proclaim, we confess our faith using the words of the creed. Through the sacraments, we participate in the outward signs instituted by God to convey inward grace.

Through the water, the bread, and the wine we share in the elements Jesus used to identify himself with the community. We become the body of Christ as the church, through these elements of thanksgiving. Through the word, faith, hope, and the sacraments we answer the question. This is how we show the world what we believe. We do this not out of obligation, but out of love. This is how we say, “Yes, it is true. He is risen. He is risen, indeed.”

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[i] Jinkins, Rev. Dr. Michael. Transformational Ministry, Church Leadership and the Way of the Cross.  Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2002, page 33.

[ii] Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion, McNeill, John T. Ed., Volume III, Chapter 2, Section vii.

[iii] PC(USA) Book of Confessions, 2.2

[iv] Augustine

[v] PC(USA), 3.18, 5.134

[vi] Rahner, Karl, in Eucharist, A Source Book, Liturgy Training Publications, 1999, Chicago, page 19

[vii] Ibid. Jinkins

Endings as Beginnings

This sermon was heard during the 11:00 service at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday April 12, 2009, Easter/Resurrection of the Lord Sunday.

Isaiah 25:6-9
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
Mark 16:1-8

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Sesame Street has a skit that helps teach children differences between items in groups. We can probably all sing it together, “One of these things is not like the other.” If you put the resurrection stories from the gospels together in a room, you would be able to see that one of these things is not like the other. Mark’s gospel is decidedly different. It is far more abrupt than the other three accounts.

Matthew’s version includes the bribing of the guard by the chief priests and Jesus giving the apostles the Great Commission. The Lukan story includes the wonderful account of Jesus breaking bread with two of the Jerusalem pilgrims as they return home to Emmaus. Luke’s version then extends into the book of Acts with the story of the ascension. John’s is far more extensive with the Doubting Thomas discourse, the command to “feed my sheep,” and the account of the great catch of fish.

These are wonderful and glorious stories of the things Jesus has done after his resurrection. These stories show how our Lord continues to share life with his disciples, and by this we are promised a continuing relationship with the Lord; a relationship that continues today.

Mark’s version has no such wonderful tales of what happens next. Mark’s gospel gives us just three women who are a fine combination of terrified, amazed, and afraid. Instead of rejoicing and dancing in the streets, instead of a common meal being shared, instead of the physical presence of the Lord in his resurrected body with its earthly wounds still present; Mark’s gospel ends with three women fleeing in shocked silence from the open tomb.

Mark’s gospel jerks to a stop like a dog tied to a stake. This is not the ending we expect to the greatest story ever told. Between you and me, I love Mark’s gospel and I even love this ending, but if I am looking for a happy ending, a glorious resolution, the ending I expect on Easter morning; this one leaves me wanting.

Now you can tell me I don’t have to worry; depending on the translation, there is either one more or a dozen more verses that follow where our lectionary reading ended. These endings give us more of the “feel good” ending we have come to expect. But these additions to Mark’s gospel, the single verse “Shorter Ending to Mark” or the twelve verses known as “The Longer Ending to Mark,” were added between 100 and 150 years after the original text was compiled.[1]

In a very human way, this should give us comfort. More than 1,800 years ago, someone else was so unsatisfied with the ending to Mark’s gospel that they tacked on a whole new finale.

These additional endings are like a Hollywood movie that didn’t do well with test audiences so a new ending was written, shot, and tacked on at the end. It brought closure to a work that people didn’t think ended well the way it was first presented.

But the original ending, the one we hear today, as unsatisfying as it may be, leaves us with truth; the truth of someone who was once dead and buried is now neither; and that’s a bit of truth to wrap our heads around. Indeed, people don’t expect the dead to be up walking around and fear is not an unreasonable reaction.

Marie and I are big fans of ABC’s “stranded on a mysterious tropical island” show “LOST.” Last Wednesday’s episode dealt with the consequences of a recently dead character named John coming back to life after returning to the island; and this isn’t the first time this character’s life was revived by the mysterious healing properties of the island.

As Ben, the shows major antagonist, awakens after being injured, he sees John standing over him. The last time Ben saw John, John was dead and in a casket. Ben himself knows the island’s healing abilities. When he sees John, he cries out in shock that he knew John would return to life. Noting the quiver in Ben’s voice, John asks “Then why are you so surprised to see me?”

With an amazed look on his face Ben answers, “Because it’s one thing to believe it, John; it’s another thing to see it.”[2]

As with any good antagonist, you can never be sure if Ben is telling the truth, and this storytelling truism is on display later in the episode when another character asks Ben if he knew John would be revived if he returned to the island. Ben answers “I had no idea it would happen.” Ben says he has seen the island do miraculous things, but he continues “never once has it done anything like this. Dead is dead, you don’t get to come back from that, not even here. So the fact that John Locke is walking around this island scares the living hell out of me.”

Just to put the cherry on this whacked out sundae of a TV show, John, the character who comes back to life says “It’s weird for me too.”

Let me make this perfectly clear, I am not comparing John’s return to life with the Resurrection of our Lord. I said that John came back to life and was revived, but I do save the word resurrected for our Lord. What I am doing is comparing the character’s reaction to John returning to life and the women’s reaction to the revelation about Jesus and the empty tomb. Ben says it scares the living hell out of him. Even John, the man who was revived, was surprised he returned to the living.

Now imagine this happening at a tomb in Jerusalem and not on a Hawaiian soundstage. The three women were terrified.

We shouldn’t be surprised at the terror the three women felt that first Easter. They came to the tomb planning to finish the burial preparations. Jesus had died so near the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath — sundown on Friday — that there had not been enough time to anoint his body. So now, on Sunday morning, with the Sabbath finished, the three women head to the tomb to finish the sad task hardly begun on Good Friday. Their first concern was how to get the stone moved away from the tomb entrance. The last thing they expected was that Jesus would have left the tomb, especially under his own power.

They were heartsick with grief, but they were at least functioning. Death wasn’t welcome, but it wasn’t some new thing. They knew what they were supposed to do, and they were beginning to adjust to the fact that Jesus was gone. Resurrection, however, was something entirely out of their realm of experience. It was an entirely new thing, and it scared the wits out of them. They were not prepared for such news.[3]

And we are not unlike them.

We hear the Easter story every year; we hear the story of the Last Supper, the betrayal of Christ, the trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. And yes, we hear the story and we believe. This makes us Christians, we hear and by faith we believe.

Armed with this truth, knowing how Mark’s version of the story ends without ending puts the pen in our hand. This is the ultimate truth of the abrupt ending of Mark’s gospel. The truth of the resurrection is in the continuing life of Jesus Christ lived with his disciples after Mark’s recording ended. The ultimate truth is that He continues living with his disciples in the church today and He lives with us still.

As literature, Mark’s gospel has an ending, one that is not satisfying to readers who want stories to end with closure. But as Gospel this is a good thing; it is a very good thing. The good news of Jesus Christ is still being written. To coin a phrase, our reading from Mark’s gospel represents the end of the beginning.

Act one is finished. God walked upon the earth; was crucified, dead and buried; and now, now the tomb is empty. The big question is “what next?” and the big answer can only come by participating in the work God has begun, accepting the relationship our Lord and his disciples modeled, and doing what we are called to do.

The writing of Mark’s gospel has ended, but for us this ending is just the beginning. This is our vocation; we are the next writers of the story. The pen is in our hands and it is up to us as the Church of the Risen Lord and as individual members of the Church to continue writing this story. Today let us begin our version of the ending as the new beginning using the words of the ancient liturgy “He is risen. He is risen, indeed.” Alleluia. Amen.

[1] “Extended Ending” HomileticsOnline.com. http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/btl_display.asp?installment_id=93040450, retrieved April 2, 2009
[2] ABC Pictures and Bad Robot Studio, “LOST” Original broadcast April 8, 2009.
[3] Ibid, HomileticsOnline.com, Bob Kaylor, Senior Writer, and Senior Minister of the Park City United Methodist Church in Park City, Utah.