When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother
of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the
first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying
to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the
tomb?” 4 And looking
up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the
tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe,
and they were alarmed. 6 And
he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was
crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his
disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see
him, just as he told you.” 8 And
they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized
them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Many people do not think this could be the finally end of
the story. Well they are correct. It is not the end of the story but it very
well maybe the ending to the Gospel according to St Mark. St Mark offers us the great opportunity to
ask the question what comes next.
The women come to seek Jesus of Nazareth. They come to finish his burial. But these
things always become a little difficult for me when you put the narratives
together. The point really is they come to the tomb in the morning looking for
a dead body and don’t find one.
The women find that the large stone is rolled away for them.
The Stone opens up the tomb so you can look inside. They are able to find a
young man (fully clothed) sitting there. This man seems to know exactly who
they are and why they have come. He warns them not to fear or be alarmed, but
they remain alarmed. If anything the women get more worked up.
Finally, the women run away or go home the same way most of
us go home after church. When we go home, we do not desire to tell anyone
anything. We do not want to let this Christianity seep into our daily lives or
work. We certainly do not want to raise our children or teach our children
about God. We are all trapped in our fear.
Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again.
Jesus of Nazareth is not found in a tomb. You can not put flowers on his grave
site. You can not visit his memorial. He is risen from the Dead. He is alive
and able to eat with his disciples. You have nothing to fear, because he can
over come the grave. He has given this power to you also to overcome death and
live eternally.
GA: Matthew 28:1-10
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