And
they (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) went out
and fled from the empty tomb for trembling and astonishment had come
over them; they said nothing to anyone because they were afraid.
(Mark 16:8)
This
is the original ending to the Gospel of Mark. There are no sightings
of the risen Jesus. There are no happy reunions between the women
and the Risen One. The Gospel ends on a note of fear and trembling.
There
has always been speculation about why the Gospel ended so
abruptly…but the one I like is that the people who first read this
Gospel were surrounded by men and women who had seen the risen Jesus.
There was no need to retell the resurrection story because it was a
part of the life of the community. As time went by however, and
those original witnesses became fewer and fewer, there was a need for
a written record so that the story would not be lost.
You
and I are the beneficiaries of these story tellers. We are made
aware of the love of God not only in the death, but in the
resurrection of Jesus. We are made aware that life does not end here
but carries on forever. As we celebrate Easter Sunday the challenge
for us is to keep the story alive; to tell the next generation that
we do not need to live in fear and trembling, but that we can live in
the joy and hope that comes from the Risen Jesus.
Living
God, we give you thanks for the love you have shown to us in raising
Jesus from the dead. Give us the confidence that this same
resurrection awaits us all. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
John
Judson
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