They Said Nothing to Anyone
Mark 16:1-8
March 31, 2024 anno Domini
What if that was the end? They said nothing to anyone. If that was the end then you should have slept in this morning. Or got in line early for the Easter Brunch. Oh wait. There wouldn’t be any Easter brunch if there was no resurrection. Worse, if that was the end, then it’s the end of you. If Christ has not been raised, then this world is all there is. Whatever you’re going through right now is as good as it gets until it gets worse.
But wait. There’s more. If Christ has not been raised then there is no reason for you to love anyone. If Christ has not been raised, then there is no God, then you better look out for yourself. The only reason for other people around you is to use them for our own advantage. Don’t get married, unless it personally benefits you and get divorced the minute it doesn’t. Don’t have children. They are very expensive. You’ll have to sell your toys to pay for their college. If Christ has not been raised, the evolutionists are right. Life is a fight for survival, so follow your passions, devour your neighbor, and maybe you can live a little longer before you die and lose everything.
But wait. There’s even more (or more properly less) if those women said nothing. You have no reason to live. What’s the point if all you have before you is fighting for survival till you die? You’re no different than an animal in the wild, except you have a conscience, a conscience that accuses you when you hurt others, a conscience that tells you you’re missing something. But if Christ has not been raised, even your conscience is lying. It’s some left over remnant of evolution that should be discarded. If there is no God, there is no truth, and everything is permissible.
I do not know why the Easter Gospel ends at vs 8, because Mark goes on for another 8 verses and one of the first things he says is, “Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Him.” But for over 600 years the main Gospel for the chief service celebrating the Resurrection of the Lord ends, “They said nothing to anyone.”
Why? Perhaps for the very reasons I have mentioned. The resurrection of Jesus isn’t merely the final chapter in the Gospels or another miraculous story from the Bible. Although most people don’t realize this even the rabbits and the eggs that adorn our Easter celebrations are not of pagan origin but tied to the resurrection and have been used in Christian iconography and artwork for centuries. Maybe the crafters of the lectionary chose Mark’s account ending at verse 8 to get Christians, to get you to contemplate life without Christ. Or maybe to lead you to repent of the Resurrection story being just another part of Bunny, Eggs, and Brunch Sunday.
The Devil would love it if the story ended there. Then he could get all the experts on the History and Discovery channels to blend the Jesus story together with some Pagan myths and make a smoothie that everyone could swallow with the nutritional value of a Dairy Queen Blizzard.
But it doesn’t end there. You know that because you are here. And the first thing you heard this morning, hopefully was, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia. That proclamation doesn’t make for a good ending. It makes for great life, right now, for you and a better and more beautiful life for all eternity. It makes for a story that doesn’t end and only gets better for you.
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. That means you’re not a highly evolved animal. The Son of God didn’t come for the snails or the butterflies or even your favorite Labrador retriever. The Son of God became a man for us men. God the Father desired from eternity that we humans, His highest creatures would enjoy life, do good, love one another, and live under Him forever. Our parents lost that within hours of their creation because they sinned against God. They broke the one commandment He gave them. And by their own fault that should have been the end of the story – man by his sin had corrupted his soul, destroyed his faith, and become worse than the animals, because he knew better and yet chose to sin. His end should have been suffering, then death. Good riddance.
But, as Saint John tells us again and again, God is love. Not generic, mushy love. Not love for His own well-being or love for pleasure, but love that loves the unlovable you and makes you lovely again. God is not love for Himself. He is love for you. His love is not an emotion or a feeling. His love is given and demonstrated in deeds, like sparing Adam and Eve from immediate death so they could have children, so you could be born. But more importantly that Jesus of Nazareth could be born for you.
The Son of God became man, but more than that, He became sin for us. He became sin for you. This how God loved you. Your sin, think about it, your coveting, your anger, your disobedience, your vile thoughts, your lust, the sins by which you have hurt most the ones you should love most, your sins are on Jesus because His Father doesn’t want them on you. Jesus died for the sin of the world. It’s so easy to say, but it’s unfathomable what He suffered. It’s impossible to believe, all the sin of all the world on Him at the cross, all God’s anger at you poured out on Him, but that is what His Father gave His Son to do for you.
When your sin is taken away, that’s the beginning of a whole different story. Just ask Mary Magdalene, or Peter, or John, or Saul. The deserting disciples became courageous confessors. For a moment they hid behind locked doors, but within days they were willing to be locked up, beaten, and killed to preach that Jesus is risen from the dead. The women couldn’t keep quiet. The Apostles could not not preach. The Christian Church has not been able to keep her mouth shut for 2000 years even though the world and her rulers have done their worst to silence her.
They said nothing to anyone. With those words Saint Mark reproves us. When you get asked this week, “How was your weekend?” or “What did you do for Easter?” what will you answer? Will you say nothing to anyone about the resurrection? Will you delight in your ham, cheesy potatoes and children being home? Will the story end with you? Or will say something like, “Well, Easter was a blast. I went to church and my pastor told me for 17 minutes and 29 seconds that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And there’s nothing better than that, not even my wife’s cheesy potatoes and taking a nap with my grandson. Every Sunday I can hear that makes for a great weekend. How was your Easter?”
They said nothing to anyone. That’s the end of the text, but it’s just the beginning of life and the resurrection. So say something this week. In the name of Jesus. Amen.