Easter

Transcripts are computer-generated and may not be 100% accurate.

Happy Easter everybody. It's so good to be together on this Easter Sunday! Alleluia, Christ has risen. And every year we gather together and we tell that same old story the story that's been told for 2,000 plus years. We told the story last year and the year before that and the year before that and we're gonna continue to tell that story. The story never changes. What changes is us, Is our world, certainly our country.

We've heard the story before we know the ending as soon as we start to tell the beginning. And every year as you preach, as a pastor, you sort of feel like “how do I zhush it up a little bit?” But you know what there's no zhushing needed for this story. It's a story that's powerful. It doesn't need more flair. We don't make need to make it look better because it looks pretty good on its own. And here's the thing: We got to tell the story because we need the reminder that the Easter story is still true, that the Easter story is still happening. And maybe this year more than ever, this hard year we've had in this country—let's just be honest about that—we need this story. And we need it not because it's changed but because we've changed and life has changed.

So we're continuing on in the book of Mark. For those of you who might be here for the first time, we've been in the book of Mark a really long time. I think since September of 2023. Now, we've taken some breaks for some other sermon series, but we continue on. And you know this story most of us as well as I do: Jesus is crucified and dies on a cross. He's laid in a tomb, that tomb is sealed. And as would be for fitting, as luck would have it—or the incredible sermon series planning of Cody Sanders—we land on Mark's last words today, on Easter Sunday. We're in Mark 16 verses 1-8:

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 and Very early on the first day of the week when the Sun had risen they went to the tomb They've been saying to one another Who will roll the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb? When they looked up they saw that that stone which was very large had already been rolled back. And as they entered the tomb They saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed You were looking for Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He's been raised and he's not here. Look There's the place they laid him. But go tell the disciples and Peter that he's going ahead of you to Galilee and there you will see him just as he told you.” 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.

The end! The text seems to cut the story short a little bit though Where's the rest of the story? That ending seems a little bit abrupt maybe even incomplete, unsatisfying and you may be thinking—those who own a Bible or know the story—wait a second, that's not what my Bible says. That's not where Mark's resurrection story ends Where are the 12 verses, 9-20, you know the part where Jesus engages with Mary Magdalene and then he meets Two of the disciples on the road. He's in a different form and then he goes to the 11 disciples and he tells them go out proclaim the good news to all of creation and then and then Jesus ascends into heaven and Those disciples they go out and they spread the good news?

The gospels of Matthew and Luke certainly take the resurrection story that far. And as I said, this is the ending of the text for Mark. It's the original ending. Virtually all scholars agree that the longer ending that is in most manuscripts. It's in my Bible. It isn’t an original. The style and the content they're non-markan, and it doesn't appear in any of the most important early manuscripts. And It represents this compendium of resurrection appearances that have kind of been gathered from the other gas gospel text and What they think is that it was likely added by second century copyists who were very unsatisfied with the way mark ended that bottom line is that unsatisfied scribes later decided to add a happier ending.

I Think that's interesting, that ending more in line with the other gospel texts. But here's what I think after a little bit of study this week: I don't think Mark’s ending was accidental or some bit of clumsy editing, or even in need of a longer additional text. What seems more likely is that Mark was intentional. That there were actually reasons on his part that were both literary and theological. And while some of us might be bothered by what seems like sort of an unfinished or fully developed resurrection appearance story, I think what was more important to mark was this very plain bold stark testimony and It's this simple: “He has been raised.”

Here's what mark offers us: an empty tomb and a promise that they'll be met by him if they go where he's gone. You know what I think that's like? It's kind of a mic drop moment. Now me being of another generation sort of had to look up mic drop to see exactly how that was defined and here's how it was defined: an emphatic gesture or statement that signifies the end of a performance or speech and conveys bold confidence that it was impressive and unbeatable. In other words—and this is a quote—"Nuff said.” [laughter] And there's nothing to add after such a powerful speech or statement or talk. He's been raised. It's memorable. It's impactful. It's powerful. Isn't that a mic drop moment? I think I think it is.

And what we're left is to contemplate the true meaning of the risen Christ and these instructions that are given. The end of Mark's story testimony witness is this and this is what the Easter story is about friends: That life has the last word not death. That love has the last word not hate or fear. That forgiveness, reconciliation, grace, that they have the last word, not judgment or or retribution. God's final future is hope not despair, reconciliation not recrimination, self-offering not self-interest. And that's good news for all of us.

And Here's what I love the most about this. It's not an ending at all! It's not an ending. The story of Jesus doesn't end with his death. God's done something new. He's done something unheard of and the crucified is now the risen one and he's risen to a new life not the same old life, but a new one and the story continues. The story continues and it continues and it continues through Jesus, it continues through you and me in the world. That Easter story reminds me of God's unending love for us. The love we're carried were called to carry on and on and on.

I've shared this story before so I'm not going to share the whole thing, but what it reminds me of is this tattoo I have on my arm my wrist. It's called an infinity cross, it's the reminder of God's unending love I wear this cross because a couple years ago before my sister died—she's been gone eight years now—and she had her cancer had moved. It’d metastasized and she knew that it was terminal and she had this cross tattooed on her wrist so she might be reminded that no matter what was going on in her life, no matter how she was moving through life, and dying, that she could look down and be reminded of God's unending love. God's life and love and grace and forgiveness. That we can all be reminded of the Easter story.

The older I get and the more life I live and the more life I get to share with you all…we need the Easter story because life is hard. And there is sorrow and pain and suffering and joy and beauty and love. And all those things together. But we need the Easter story. And I thank God for the truth that God is bigger than all of this. He's bigger than us he's bigger than what's going on in our country in our world.

I think when we're in our lowest moments, we need the reminder that what wins is love. What wins is life. What wins is grace and forgiveness and hope. And so we asked the question what does our lives look like if we trust in a God who not only creates but a God who recreates? I Think that's such an awesome notion: a God who recreates, a God who will really bring life out of death. What does it mean to be present in every moment no matter what that moment, what that season, is in our life? And to hold the hope of something beyond us. To hold the hope in a God who brings us life, a life beyond this world? What does it look like to live and to die with grace and courage? All those things point to the Easter story to the Easter truth.

Mark says “He has been raised. He is not here.” Matthew says “He's not here, for he has been raised.” And Luke says “He is not here. He is risen.” And that's the Easter truth. It's the same this year as it was last year and the year before that and the year before that. And the question for you today is: what does that Easter truth look like in your life. Because it doesn't matter who you are, why you're here, what's happened in your life, what hasn't happened, what's left undone, what's done, who you love, what you love, what you've lost.

Doesn't matter what you believe or you don't believe the story is still true and the only thing about Easter that has changed is you and me and our lives. I'm gonna ask you to just take a minute just pause for a minute. Think about your own life over this past year, everything that's changed, all those things that have happened or didn't happen. Just think about that for a moment. Think about the Easter story as you think about that.

If you're comfortable, just close your eyes for a moment. It's not mandatory just if you're comfortable. And I'd love you to hear these words just listen to these words from the episcopal priest Michael K. Marsh. Take them in:

If you’ve ever needed a fresh start, a new beginning, a second chance; remember, it happened “on the first day of the week.” That is your Easter truth.

If you’ve ever lived in darkness, if you’ve ever needed light and warmth, if you’ve ever spent a long night waiting for the dawn of a new day; remember, it happened “when the sun had risen.” That is your Easter truth.

If you’ve ever been stuck, if you’ve ever been in need of freedom and release, if you’ve ever felt entombed and powerless; remember, “they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.” That is your Easter truth.

If you’ve ever had your heart broken by loss and laid someone or something you loved in the tomb, if you’ve ever waited in grief and sorrow; remember, “he has been raised; he is not here.” That is your Easter truth.

If you’ve ever worried about the future, what will happen, where your life is headed; remember, “he is going ahead of you.” That is your Easter truth. If You've ever needed a fresh start a new beginning a second chance Remember it happened on the first day of the week. That is your Easter truth.

You can open your eyes. The truth of Easter is never in question. The only question is what are we gonna do with that truth and what will we let that truth do to us? We miss the point of Easter today if we leave here the same as when we entered this morning Because here's the thing Easter is not just this event in history that we come together and we celebrate. It's the lens through which we see everything. Easter is about new life a new way of living and What that means is that today isn't the end of the story.

What that means is that this actually isn't the important day, what's more important is what tomorrow looks like for you and the day after that and the day after that. He's going ahead of you said that young man dressed in a white robe to the women and that's the truth. He's going ahead of us and he's rolling back stones. He's emptying tombs. He's preparing new places, and he's calling forth life.

The thing about Easter is that it's happening all around us all of the time. It happens in the unexpected. It happens in the heavy and the hard. Easter happens in the everyday ordinary circumstances of our lives, the familiar places the usual relationships, the ordinary circumstances. It's happening. I've really come over this last week to appreciate Mark’s ending his resurrection telling: “He's been raised. He's not here. He's going ahead of you to Galilee.”

Because what it does for me, it leaves me reflecting on the true meaning of Jesus is rising, and those instructions that are left for us. And what it does for me is it points me back to the fact that God's still at work. God is not done and that the story of Jesus continues. It continues through us. I think Mark’s ending is more than enough. I think it's perfect. Please pray with me:

Holy and gracious God We are grateful that we can gather in this room and just be together. Be in community and sing and pray and be reminded that you're still at work, that be reminded that no matter what's going on in our life in our community in our world, God, that you are a God of life and love and grace and forgiveness and you call us to live that life with one another. We thank you that we can celebrate today, not a one-time story, but a story that continues. We pray all this in the name of Jesus, Amen.