Easter
April 4, 2021
Scripture Reading:
Mark 16:1-8
When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’ 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.
My Bible study group recently reviewed the book of Acts. I rarely read an entire book of the Bible through in one or two segments. After reading Acts in this manner, I was struck by how much it reads like a travel guide. Something happened here, and then we got on a boat and sailed to the next place where we preached here and got stoned there, and then we got on a ship and sailed to the next location until we sailed to Rome. The trip abruptly stopped. Rome is where life in the flesh ended for both Peter and Paul, but it was where their fellow Christians took up the banner of Christ and spread it across the world, even to us today.
Mark, too, is written similarly. Not so much a travel guide as reports of the events of Jesus’ ministry. At the end of the story, we learn that he was crucified and apparently placed in a tomb. Women came to anoint him, as was the custom at the time of death. Jesus is gone, and a stranger, a young man dressed in white, meets them and tells them that Jesus had been raised from the dead. The women were very matter-of-factly instructed to tell the disciples and Peter to meet him in Galilee. The women were left speechless. We know, though, that the story did not end there either. The Resurrection marked a new beginning that led Peter and Paul and many others on their quest to share the Good News of Jesus, the Christ. We have inherited that quest for such a time as this.
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim
till all the world adore his sacred name.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for sharing yourself with us, seeing our potential even when we do not, and gifting us with the grace of forgiveness, empowering us to serve you and share your love with all your children everywhere. Amen.
Refrain from hymn Lift High the Cross, by George W. Kitchin See at https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw4150.aspx
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.