Mark 16

Resurrection flies in the face of everything we know to be true.

The Bible offers conflicting answers.

Mark's Gospel and “There's a Hole in the Bucket”

Usually it takes courage to preach Good Friday. This year, it will take courage to proclaim “He is risen!” on Easter morning.

It’s Easter. Step into the future.

Talking about God in the face of wounds that won’t go away

Accept the resurrection or don’t. Either way, you’re the boss.

There is a chasm between Peter and Jesus that cannot be glossed over.

On Easter Sunday, we want to feel triumphant. Instead we get Mark 16.

If it hadn't been for the snakes, I might have let the reader continue. Instead I went to the lectern and quietly said, "we are stopping at verse 8 today."

You may recall that this ending of the Gospel of Mark, the one that appears in the most ancient manuscripts of the book, seemed too abrupt to later copyists. Before long, 11 more verses had found their way there, a busy digest of post-resurrection experiences from a variety of sources: John's account of the scene at the tomb with Mary Magdalene, John's story of Thomas the doubter, a version of the walk to Emmaus, an account of Jesus' ascension, other material from Luke/Acts. These are entered almost as bullet points.

But the tacked-on verses need not concern us here--the Revised Common Lectionary walks away from them politely. We are left with the bald confusion and fear at the end of the ancient tale, from a time before it was canonized and liturgized.

If Mark’s ending creates discomfort and uncertainty, it is partly due to our knowledge of how the Easter story is told in the other Gospels.

Is this any way to run a resurrection? Is this enough to persuade, to stir new life in the followers of Jesus?

What has God done? Everything. What have we done in return? Nothing.