Christ is Risen
Christ is Risen indeed
This joyful refrain will be echoed around the world. On this day, this Easter Sunday, Christians everywhere share the great hope of their faith.
Christ is risen — history was made, and the world changed.
I have been mulling over the lectionary text (Mark 16:1-8) for the last few days.
The Celtic connection means that my first thoughts always go to how the natural world — the cycle of life — is reflected in the season. Life is just bursting out everywhere I look. Birds are nesting, shoots are pushing through the ground, trees are budding, rabbits, woodchucks and chipmunks are scurrying around. The evidence of new life is in abundance. Even, the last snowfall melted away overnight. What a wonderful picture of resurrection life.
Yet, I am aware it is all in the interpretation. This depiction of resurrection life, which I find so meaningful, is only true in certain parts of the world. I have family in Australia where they are in autumn moving towards winter — how would a picture of resurrection life be imagined in nature for them? Would resurrection be the fruit and maturity of Jesus’ earthly ministry? Would it be the door into a period of hiddenness before the church emerges? Or what about family in Thailand and friends in Brazil where it is always warm? How would the nature surrounding them reflect resurrection life? Even in some southern parts of this country flowers are already moving to full bloom.
So, while I enjoy the image of new life and hope for the future that surrounds me. I am aware that for others the picture may be different. Different, but no less meaningful. This Celtic understanding, that the earth reflects the cycle of life, is a picture for all regardless of where one lives.
As I continued to ponder the words of the text, I found that I lingered on the last words of the passage — indeed the last words of the original gospel. (Mark is understood to be the earliest of the synoptic gospels and verses 9 onwards are thought to be later additions).
The gospel according to Mark keeps the resurrection story comparatively short. Just eight verses, yet so full of meaning. In this story two women visit the tomb early to care for Jesus’ body. I did pause there, at our last retreat much of the conversation was about caring for others. It brought to mind the ethics of care and all that entails. I loved that I saw it here, right at the beginning of the resurrection story, although a little saddened that again caring was deemed women’s responsibility. This one verse in the Easter story highlights the significance of care.
And as if to emphasize this, these women were given an amazing responsibility. They were sent to bear witness of the resurrection to the male disciples. Today, it is almost impossible to realize the significance of this or to feel the impact of what this must have meant to them. In times when testimony from women was usually considered invalid or ineligible, women were chosen to bear witness to this most significant history changing event.
Then follows the concluding words of the story, the last words of the gospel. And what an ending! “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” (8).
At first glance, it can feel quite a negative way to end a gospel, leaving the reader to sit with fear. But the more I read it and mused on the verse, it felt exactly right. The women’s reaction was perfect. There was no false confidence or bravado. They were overwhelmed, they were terrified, they were fearful, and they were amazed.
I loved the honesty of it.
I loved the humanness of their reaction.
I loved their insight.
Such a reaction shows that they realized that something life changing was happening. They had been chosen to bear witness to something that would change everything. They recognized the gravity of what they were seeing and hearing. It was an event they did not take lightly or casually. History was being made before their eyes — nothing would ever be the same for them again.
So today, as I think today about death and resurrection I, too, want to be so impacted, that I am amazed and terrified.
Christ is risen — history was made, and the world changed.
