From Pastor Kristen
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who participated by sharing photos, videos, and voice recordings in order to make Holy Week and Easter Sunday worship so very special! If you would like the link to the Easter Cannon video, just send me a message. I am grateful for you! - Pastor Kristen
And they said nothing to anyone - for they were afraid That is how the oldest versions of Mark’s gospel ends. It’s not much of an ending… but maybe that’s just what Mark intended. Because Mark makes it clear from the outset that his gospel is just the beginning of the story. And from today’s reading it seems that the empty tomb is not the end. Instead, Mark’s end-less ending encourages us to step into in the rest of the story; to take up where he left off. But that’s no easy task.
Jesus’ resurrection is a frightening, disconcerting event that challenges what we think we know about life and death. It’s not surprising that the women ran away in fear! But we know the women did eventually tell the story, because we still read it today. And now Mark’s Easter gospel leaves the door open for us to step into God’s resurrection story; to hear Jesus’ invitation to meet him – not in Galilee this time, but in our own hometowns; in our own homes, to find out what’s next.
Jesus trusts us to give witness to resurrection when the world only sees death; to insist on resurrection when death seems to have won the day. For that is the good news of Easter. Some of us will feel more sure of this proclamation than others of us, and that’s ok. Because the heart of our Easter celebration is not about what we do or don’t do. Rather, it’s about what God has done for all of us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. God has promised us hope in the midst of fear, love in the midst of hate, and life in the midst of death.
This Easter, we are invited to step into the transforming and sometimes surprising resurrection story, in order to meet Jesus and find out from him what’s next in our own stories, how might we proclaim the good news to the world that God’s love that has no end. Thanks be to God! Amen!
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