The Sun Rises Again and Again
A Sermon for April four, 2021. Emory Presbyterian Church. Easter Dominicus. Mark 16:one-8
Over the past ii months, my kids have been rampage-watching the 2017-2021 remake of theDisney'south DuckTales, an blithe serial from the tardily 80s. The new version, which features an all-star voice bandage, is a clever, funny and poignant reimaging of the exploits of Uncle Scrooge McDuck and his three k nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie equally well equally a zany array of friends and foes.
In the remaining minutes of the series finale,The Last Adventure,which aired recently, Scrooge and visitor, afterward defeating the villains and learning the value of family, board the McDuck's Seaplane for dwelling house. During the flight, Launchpad, the goofy and amiable pilot, makes a flying blunder that causes the McDucks and their friends to exist sucked out of the cargo hold. Every bit the credits roll, they all fall with mode; some who have powers soar away with others in tow while one grapheme uses his dashing greatcoat every bit a parachute. Scrooge, the grand nephews and their best friend Webby, grasp easily to form a circle as they gleefully float downwardly. And then the screen fades to blackness.[1]
Upon seeing the prove'southward finale on Thursday, my 7-yr-erstwhile son turned to me and said: "Agggh, I can't believe it's over! I want to know what happens next! … Hmmm, possibly I should brand a Season 4." His 12-twelvemonth-one-time sister replied, "That's a keen thought, you tin can come up with your own stories."
In similar fashion, the resurrection story that completes the Gospel of Mark has provoked readers throughout history to say with awe, "Agggh, the women flee the tomb and stay silent about their encounter because they're afraid!?!? I tin't believe that's how he finished the story!"
Mark xvi:eight is distressing, the cliff-hanger of all cliff-hangers—more epic than any TV bear witness or movie whose culmination is abrupt and vague. Mark'due south original determination was and so uncomfortable to folks centuries ago that happier shorter and longer endings were subsequently added by scribes since, according to most scholars, these new additions were not present in the earliest manuscripts.
Because people typically prefer stories to wrap upward nicely and neatly, Mark 16:eight leaves us wanting more and bewildered as to why the gospel writer would conclude with fear and silence. While it's possible that an actress page of Marker's composition was lost or he got distracted and didn't write more than, it'southward more likely that the ambiguous ending is an intentional and captivating invitation to detect the resurrected Jesus by meeting him in Galilee as the beau in white robes instructed.
In the bookPreaching Mark in Two Voices,The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Blount writes:[2]
Mark's Gospel begins and ends in Galilee … In Marker, Galilee awaits united states of america. The risen Jesus goes before us. Our decease walk is over. That is the glorious news of Easter. … Galilee awaits all who are open up to God's future. Galilee awaits people who accept lost their bearings and whose organized religion flickers at best, who compromise their integrity for a cadet, who sit in the pews virtually Sundays yet still are mostly dislocated almost who Jesus is or how to follow him.
The adept news that Marking promises us is that the risen Lord awaits united states of america not in an empty tomb or in some distant future or remote place; the risen Lord awaits us in Galilee—on our metropolis streets, in the halls of our schools, in the wards of our hospitals, and behind the bars of our prisons. The Lord awaits u.s. in the market place and the gym, when nosotros sit down to dinner and when we lie downwardly to sleep. Want to detect the risen Lord? Want to serve the risen Christ? Mark says, 'Then become to Galilee."
God invites u.s. to enter this resurrection scene and to go on where the story leaves off. God summons u.s.a. to become to Galilee and join Jesus in the building of the beloved community that is "already and not all the same"—the kindom that is occurring and not however fully realized.
The dread and anxiety in following the risen Christ is understandable. Just considering it's Easter doesn't mean that we're all 100 percent joyful and happy or that the world is suddenly healed of its woes. This church and community knows that first-hand from the sounds of ambulances that blare up and down North Decatur Road due to the shut proximity of Emory University Infirmary. Even now every bit nosotros celebrate God'south victory over the expiry-wielding powers of Empire, people are actively dying or have died across the globe. And we are, after-all, still experiencing a pandemic that has infected more than than xxx million people and killed more than half a one thousand thousand in the U.Due south. lonely. Feelings of bereavement and despair are natural and acceptable. Rev. Denise Anderson, one of the writers for our seasonal theme,Again & Again: A Lenten Refrain,observes:
Sunday morning was a time of profound grief for those closest to Jesus. Consider those first few days after y'all've lost someone and the liminality betwixt their decease and funeral. There'southward no closure yet, and mornings are reminders that the nightmare is existent. Information technology'southward hard to imagine how you'll face the day.
Friday'due south terror gives way to new terror as the women get in to find the stone removed and a strange young man with an outlandish story. Remember that nil about this sight is recognizable to them. This isn't comforting. They run away terrified, unable to even speak of what they saw!
Only resurrection still came, even if they weren't still able to receive information technology. Things can be scary and okay at the same time. Over again and once more, the sun rises on a new day, ofttimes without encompass or acknowledgment. The same is true of resurrection. Whether or not nosotros discern what's happening, God is literally and figuratively turning the world effectually!
Like the women at the tomb, at that place are millions of people who—in the wake of COVID and other tragedies—take been unable to impact the body of their loved ane who'south died or accolade their life with an in-person memorial service or concord a traditional burial ceremony. There are many who are experiencing deep heartache and shock, who are struggling to get through the storm of grief swirling around them.
During the last year of hurting and uncertainty, I've taken great solace in the magnificently illustrated work,The Boy, the Mole, the Fob and the Horseby British author Charles Mackesy.[3] The book is well-nigh the iv protagonists in the title and the friendship they develop every bit embark on a long journey through the countryside. As a way to provide condolement and inspiration to others, Mackesy has been drawing new scenes of the story and posting them in various places around Suffolk, England, like bus stations, barn doors and the exterior wall of a café, and also sharing the project on Instagram.
In i epitome, the companions have stopped along the path and the male child looks up and says:"The clouds are getting darker." And the horse replies:"Only exercise you lot see that they are moving? Sometime before long, they will exit."The tempest does eventually come upon them, and the boy, the mole, the trick and the horse tin can do nothing other than bravely push through it.
Later, in some other illustration that depicts the boy, the mole and the fox lying atop the horse who is trudging through a deep river in the tranquility of night, the equus caballus says:"We are tired, but dawn is coming … so hold on."
The women are tired, sorry and frightened as so many people are today. And yet the gospel writer is cartoon united states into the resurrection story to connect with that anguish and to gaze through tears to witness what is merely beyond, those glimpses of lite that pierces the sky and illuminates our lives. God is urging us in the gloomiest and messiest of times to hold on, for the dawn is nearing.
The Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity ofA Sanctified Art, a creative worship consortium that created the Lenten theme materials, says of the art that adorns the embrace of our Easter bulletin (and is featured to the left):
In this painting, I imagine what the women see in the moment earlier they turn to abscond from the tomb. Instead of the dry, cracked desert, I imagine instead that they see the story of creation happening once again before them. As the horizon breaks open, I imagine calorie-free and wind sweeping over a deep sea, giving shape to what was in one case a formless void. I imagine the heavens blooming like an iris, giving birth to glimmers of radiance. I imagine darkness that nonetheless lingers—for in these shadows, there is sacredness too. …
They may be overridden with fearfulness and trembling, just their story does not cease hither. There is a way forward. In this liminal infinite, once over again, God proclaims that their fearfulness—this new, uncertain mode—is still held within the hope of resurrection. For this, I believe, is the promise of this life: that the story of creation happens once more and over again.
Friends, Easter arrives every year with the dawn, the starting time of a new day. Easter arrives every twelvemonth on a Sunday, the commencement of a new week. Easter arrives every twelvemonth near the time of Passover, the starting time of the neat Exodus to freedom. Easter arrives every year during Springtime—the season of new life. And so with all of our fear, sorrow, joys and love, allow the states awaken and rise. Easter is here. Resurrection is upon united states. Christ and the grand gamble of ministry building wait in Galilee. The piece of work of justice, mercy and healing beckon to be done. And the earth keeps turning and the sun rises, once again and over again. Amen.
[ane] https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Last_Adventure!
[2]Preaching Mark in Ii Voicespast Brian One thousand. Blount and Gary Due west. Charles, 2002, Westminster John Knox Press
[3] https://www.charliemackesy.com
highetteandoins87.blogspot.com
Source: https://georgiapreach.wordpress.com/2021/04/04/again-again-the-sun-rises-easter-sunday/
0 Response to "The Sun Rises Again and Again"
Post a Comment