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There has always been something terrifying to me about this text. What odd thing is said at the end of this text? Mark pointed it out to us on Easter morning. Yes. It is the fact that the text ends with the women failing to tell anyone at all about the risen savior. In fact to be more specific – the last verse ends in a preposition "for." In Greek, as in English, there should be another clause after the last word in the text. What could that mean? That Mark didn’t finish the story? That Mark’s ending has been lost? That the women actually didn’t tell anyone? That something is really odd about our scripture text? All of those questions demand terrifying answers. Answers to questions that call into question the very existence of the church.
My new testament Professor said that the final proof to the resurrection - the final proof of the question of the ending of Mark’s Gospel – did they really not tell anyone.. is you and me. How did we get here? How did we hear the story? How did Mark hear the story? Someone told. Someone was brave enough to step out on faith and share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But think of the real terror that the women must have felt. I want you to feel that terror. Think how generous and caring Jesus had been. Call back all those memories of how special and loving Jesus had been to the disciples and his followers. Think of the times when he made room on his knee for a child, or when he took time to stop and explain the beauty of his father’s kingdom. All the people that he took the time to notice. He noticed those who were unnoticeable. The beggars, the women, the prostitutes, those who were people but only for the purpose of abusing and ridiculing, the leper, the tax collector, the wife, the daughter, the slave. All these he loved as his own children.
Now think of the disciples on the night of Jesus’ arrest. The psalmist says "I will strike the shepherd and scatter the flock." The disciples ran terrified. They disappeared, denied, and disguised themselves, only to come out of hiding at the light of day and to find Jesus strung up on the cross dead. The dream was over and they were partly to blame.
Then imagine the fear and terror to see that the tomb was empty. Not just the fear that his body was stolen – but the fear of knowing that the one you had done wrong was now alive and walking. These are terrifying things.
It makes me think of a family reunion after a messy break up or divorce. How does the family work back towards reconciliation after so much has transpired. How does one go about mending the bridges that were destroyed in fierce combat. The past is gone, and the future is unattainable – and the present is just too uncomfortable. It is always hard to apologize for intentional acts – even harder to apologize to one who has been overly generous. It is easy to hurt those who hurt you but, to reconcile for undeserved wrongs that you committed. Ouch !
Now I have told a story before about forgiveness – but I want you to see it in light of the Terror of Grace. :
There's a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. (Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, Page 13)
This story makes me think of the prodigal son. He must have debated going back. He could not have known that the father would be waiting, watching, patiently. He must have debated whether the father would even give him the time of day much less food to eat and a bed to sleep on. But it is called the prodigal son because of how generous the father was to the wayward son. We know that the father was waiting and watching, we know that the father was longing to welcome the son back into the house - into the home.
This I believe is the terror of grace. The terror that you are forgiven - that you are accepted - that the wrong you have done has been blotted out, done away with – and by nothing of your own actions. The disciples and the women must have been feeling this terror as they realized that Jesus was not dead but he was alive.
Think how easy it would be if he were just dead. They could mourn his loss, feel the pain and slowly have the wound healed. But if he is alive at -- some point they must stand face to face and know that they did not live up to the standard. They will have to endure the terror of grace and the pain of forgiveness. As the one who is wronged opens up his arms and says "Peace."
This is the terror of Mark’s story.
Mark - I believe intended the story to end in just this way. He leaves the text open. He leaves a window and invites you to be a part of the story. Poke your head in and see what is going on. He leaves the ending unfinished because he knows that there is more to the story than who the women tell and why. Rather the story for Mark’s intentions and purposes has only begun. Mark recognizes another Terror … the Terror that the church is always one generation away from extinction. The church is one generation from dying. The weight of the story of salvation lands clearly on your shoulders and on mine. And if we choose not to tell the story – then we will be sounding the death knell for the church. We sound the death knell for the church if we choose not to tell the story of love and forgiveness that is the heart of the Easter story.
Mark leaves the story open because he wants you to finish it. Though you and I feel a deep pit forming in our stomach knowing that the future of the church rests on our ability to tell the story – never forget how generous our Lord is. Never forget that in the midst of our biggest screw ups – God is there in the terror of the moment ready to forgive - to take our hand and walk the next few steps with us until we are ready to journey again on our own.
I like the comment Dr. Williamson makes ("Mark," Interpretation Series): "When is an ending not the end? When a dead man rises from the tomb -- and when a gospel ends in the middle of a sentence." When is the terror of Grace not terror? When Jesus himself turns and wraps his arms around you and says, "Peace be with you."
Where do we go from here? What do an Easter people do? Well what does the scripture say… And the angel said "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." The angel says that Jesus is going on before them into Galilee. The terror of the story is that regardless of who you are - the crucified savior has risen. That regardless of your inability to be a disciple – Jesus has not just accepted you, forgiven you and loves you – he is going on before you to prepare the work for you. The terror is that Easter people do not stay seated but are called to go and follow Jesus. He has gone on ahead of us. And he is waiting.
The Gospel today friends – is that nothing is too much of a failure for God. Not a drop out, not an undisciplined Christian, not a backwards nation of self-centered yuppies, not a world of technology for the rich and empty cupboards for the poor. Not even a cross with the God of Creation hanging on it by the nails in the very hands that cared and loved for the world. The resurrection story - the gospel story - is that God is in the business of rolling away the stones and raising the dead. And --- it doesn’t end there he is in the business of going ahead of us and preparing the way. And he sits and waits for us to take up the journey and mission with him.
Will you be paralyzed by fear and amazement or will you be following Jesus? It is a terrifying story. But that is the terror of grace.
But regardless the stone has been rolled away - Jesus waits up the road. Will we meet him there?