Mark 16:1-8

HAPPY EASTER. And what a glorious night (morning) tonight (today) is! We are given a gift of love beyond measure tonight (today). This gift is from a God who has shown that love by becoming part of us, one with us by being human for a short span of time.  Jesus' Resurrection brings with it new life for us, a different life, and the promise of so much more.

We are at the end of Mark's Gospel tonight (this morning) and these verses are much like the rest of this enigmatic Gospel: abrupt, little detail and leaving a number of questions unanswered. And yet, there is tremendous richness here. These are words that have echoed down the millennia:

Very early on the first day of the week

Who will roll away the stone?

He has been raised; he is not here.

Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of them to Galilee.

They fled....for terror and amazement had seized them.

What jumps out at me tonight (this morning) is when the young man, dressed in a white robe, who was sitting on the right side says to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome: But go, tell the disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him just as he told you. Notice how Peter is singled out from the other disciples. Some biblical scholars say it is Mark's attempt to show Peter as the leader of the surviving disciples. But I'm not sure about that. Although probably true I am not sure that this was the prime motivating factor for Peter's prominence in this passage. Remember, Peter had sworn, two chapters earlier, that he would die at Christ's side. And the last time we saw Peter, he was weeping at his own three denials of his knowing Jesus. Imagine Peter's relief when he is told of these instructions: tell the disciples and Peter..... Peter is forgiven for his denials about knowing Jesus. Peter is forgiven for abandoning Jesus, for going back on his boasting.

This is characteristic of Jesus' ministry, his life and his modeling for us. He has been brutally treated and murdered in a most terrible manner and yet, upon his resurrection, Jesus shows concern for the one who abandoned him. Jesus reaches out to comfort the one who is sorrowful for his actions. This is a stunning thought and a basic clue for us about how we are to act to those who have hurt us. What a love this is. How can we not be amazed and terrorized at the same time as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome?

This is a critical part of our knowing Jesus, as opposed to our simply knowing about Jesus. We can know about historical figures, Alexander the Great, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Barack Obama. We can know about these people, but most of us do not know them: very few people knew or know these people. But as Christians, we can and do know Jesus. For in this Resurrection event, which is a central tenet of our faith, we know this living God who was fully human for a time. We know that Jesus knows and understands our pains and sufferings as well as our joys and happiness. The terror and amazement Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome felt reveals the mystery of our faith that we all encounter. This is a very different world Jesus has created through his death and his resurrection.

We are invited to follow Jesus, who has gone ahead of us to Galilee, where the disciples are told they will see him. We are invited into that loving, forgiving and comforting embrace that we see extended to Peter. That embrace is gifted to us as well. We may feel that we are not worthy of that trust, of that love. We may have been told, lectured at, thrown out by those who do not truly understand this encompassing embrace Jesus offers to everyone. This invitation is given to all of us. We are all Peter. We are all the disciples being offered comfort from Jesus. For me it is like all the trees that are just starting to bloom, all the bushes that are sprouting new buds, all signs of new life, a resurrected life after a long winter. God's love for us is like those re-blooming trees and shrubs: constant, ever-growing, reliable, fragrant and beautiful.

Easter is truly a season of resurrection hopefulness. We are invited this Eastertide to Galilee, to walk into the loving embrace Jesus holds ready for us.